Mumbai, April 12: As the number of coronavirus cases is rising day by day, government hospitals in Mumbai have become overcrowded with new patients coming daily. In a bid to make space for coronavirus patients at Mumbai's King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital, around 60 patients suffering from other diseases have been shifted to a makeshift facility set up by the BMC under the Hindmata flyover in Dadar area. Coronavirus Tracker Live News Updates on April 12.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, several patients were being treated at the KEM hospital. After new patients infected with coronavirus started coming, the hospital fell short of space and decided to shift non-COVID-19 patients to a different place. Now, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set up a makeshift shelter under the Hindmata flyover where not just patients but also their relatives are staying. Maharashtra Lockdown: State to be Divided Into Red, Orange, Green Zones Based on COVID-19 Count; Mumbai, Thane, Pune to Fall in Red Zone; Check Full List.

Pictures and videos showed 50-60 patients saying at the makeshift facility under the bridge. More of these patients come from a poor background and their relatives would spend days on footpaths near the KEM hospital. The makeshift shelter has come as a boon for relatives of such patients. Speaking to a news channel, a man whose pregnant wife was hospitalised at the KEM hospital said the facility is nothing less than a blessing.

Videos of Makeshift Facility For Patients Under Hindmata Flyover:

"BMC officials and police told us that an arrangement has been made for patients suffering from other diseases under the Hindmata flyover and asked us to shift," the man said. "We used to stay at footpaths. This arrangement is better for us," he added. The makeshift facility might have solved their accommodation problems, but it remains unclear how patients will be treated there. Hygiene will remain an issue as well.

At the makeshift shelter, there is a patient from Bihar who is suffering from cancer and tuberculosis. There was no one from his family to help him. Many have questioned the BMC for leaving such patients at the makeshift shelter. Some social activists, however, have swung into action and providing help to those staying at the makeshift facility under the Hindmata flyover. Mushtaq Ansari, who is providing food to those staying there, urged people to come forward and help them.

Social Activist Helps Patients:

"They need Mosquito Mets..repellants...Dettol...Toothpaste.Toothbrush... Bedsheets...Pillows...Fresh milk.Coconut water. medicines..Etc. N hope n prayers To survive (sic)," Ansari wrote in a tweet. One of the videos recorded by Ansari showed a patient with a pipe attached to her nose. While the local administration and the state government are claiming to have set up temporary shelter homes for non-COVID-19 patients and people stuck during the lockdown, the shifting of patients under a bridge has raised questions on the preparations.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya has written to state health minister Rakesh Tope and Governor, urging them to immediately shift patients staying under the Hindmata bridge to either a hospital or any indoor facility.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2020 04:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).