COVID Testing: 222 Senior Citizens Avail Of BMC’s Doorstep Facility

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) initiative to provide doorstep COVID testing facility for senior citizens received good response on Monday.

Citizens who are over 60 years of age pre-booked their requests through the 1929 Call Centre at Bhubaneswar Operations Centre of Bhubaneswar Smart City office.

As many as 222 senior citizens got their COVID tests done in the city.

Sasmita Samal was happy because her 63-year-old mother Latika Samal, from Indraprastha Colony at Pokhariput under South West Zone, was unwilling to go out for a test at a private lab.

“We were thinking about a doorstep service of a private laboratory and, in fact, booked one… but we are really surprised to see the response of BMC mobile testing van for senior citizens and it came right on time they had promised. We are so happy that we will tell all our relatives in this age bracket to avail this service if the necessity arises,’’ said Sasmita.

Prafulla Kumar Jethi (70), retired senior official of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation, and his wife Nirmala Sahoo (61), of Badagada Canal Road, availed the service on Monday. “This is a commendable job by the BMC authorities and it would help the senior citizens at home, immensely.’’

Brahmananda Mohapatra of Laxmisagar, under South East Zone, cannot go out. “This is a well-managed exercise by the civic authorities and it will help immensely the senior citizens across the Temple City,’’ he said.

Ramanath Nayak, chairman of old-age home Mohini Pramila Jara Nivas in GGP Colony, Rasulgarh, under North Zone, said: “30 inmates of our old age home were tested under this special facility of BMC and we are really happy as we could know the infection, if any, among our inmates. It’s a really great help for the senior citizens, who are staying here.”

BMC Commissioner and CEO Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Sanjay Kumar Singh said that testing facilities will be strengthened and all age-groups will get proper attention for testing through urban primary health centres, urban community health centres, special facilities and mobile testing vans across the corporation limits.

Pre-registration for mobile van testing for senior citizens by 1929 Call Centre is done a day in advance. A senior citizen has to call 1929 24X7 Call Centre between 8 am and 11 am to pre-book the appointment so that the testing can be facilitated through the respective zonal offices of the BMC the next day.