![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-77163890,imgsize-497670,width-400,resizemode-4\/77163890.jpg\" "\\"Barricades")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\nBarricades have been set up in a Behala neighbourhood<\/span><\/p>\n KOLKATA: Behala and its fringes, which has reported over 850 Covid cases over the past four months, saw a rise in containment zones on Friday with four stretches in Haridevpur and Majherhat being added to the list. With five containment zones, Behala and its fringes and Bhowanipore, which also has five containment zones, comprise one-third of the city\u2019s restricted areas.
In Behala, there are around 250 active cases, many of them from Parnasree, east Behala and Roy Bahadur Road.
Another area that has emerged as \u201chigh-risk\u201d is between Naktala and Kudghat, which has reported 40 cases in the past two weeks and a couple of people succumbed. But no containment zone was declared in the 3km stretch.
\u201cGiven the population of Behala, deaths have been sparse and recovery has been high. But the total count of 850 is considerably high. We are asking people to follow social distancing. We are also telling them not to panic as less than one-third cases are active now,\u201d said a senior divisional officer. With a population of 11 lakh, Behala is stretched across six police stations, covering Parnasree, Taratala, Thakurpukur, Haridevpur and Sarsuna.
Most cases are being reported from Parnasree, where a stretch of Maharani Indira Devi Road (Pallysree crossing to Khejur Bagan) remains under containment. Though the division is now free of two containment zones at Sakherbazar and east Behala, around 300 cases there even a month ago led the KMC and police to tighten their grip. Pockets in Haridevpur, Purba Barisha, Parnashree, Satyen Roy Road and Roy Bahadur Road also reported cases as did neighbourhoods in Taratala, Sarsuna and Thakurpuku . \u201cSome cases have been detected in apartments, one of them being located on the busy Diamond Harbour Road itself,\u201d said an official. Contact tracing of a few indicated infection from hospitals and nursing homes.
\u201cWe are taking steps to minimize the spread at various levels. We have held swab tests across several wards. A second round will begin soon. Regular sanitization drives are on. We are worried about markets. We are asking everyone to wear masks,\u201d said borough coordinator Sushanto Ghosh (Bua). The authorities are regularizing market timings.
The Naktala-Kudghat belt could keep the novel coronavirus at bay even a month ago. The first few cases surfaced from near Usha bridge and Kalibari bridge. A KMC health official said they were worried about a 500m stretch between Kalibari bridge and Kudghat bridge. \u201cMore than eight have been infected there and a senior citizen died in the past seven days. The virus has to be contained there,\u201d the official said. Bansdroni\u2019s Swapan Mukherjee said, \u201c At least five persons staying within 150m were infected in seven days. Neither KMC nor cops have taken any step.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n