Noida residents refuse for quarantine units provided by realtors.

A proposal by Naredco body of realtors to give space for COVID-19 quarantine wards in two housing projects in Noida was met with skepticism by residents associations, which said the decision triggered fear among the citizens living there.

The Noida administration said it received aid offers from many quarters, but there were stringent public health protocols around the establishment of quarantine facilities and not all places were receptive to such a system. Officials from the health department also ruled out creating quarantine centres anywhere citizens reside nearby.

The Naredco proposal said two developers, Supertech and Antriksh, proposed 400-bed and 100-bed facilities as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative — Supertech at UpCountry on the Yamuna Expressway and Antriksh at their Noida Sector 78 Golf View projects. “The builders should have taken residents’ permission,” said Shweta Bharti, secretary-general of the Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association.

‘Why to get infected people close to us’

What kind of quarantine activity is it when you are actually bringing infected people near to the occupied apartments? We will lift our voice via social media and flag it up to the chief minister, “said Bharti, a Golf View I resident. Golf View is one of the 7x sectors which are heavily populated.

In a letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Noida district magistrate Suhas LY, Supertech chairman and Naredco’s UP chief R K Arora pledged 500 beds. We want to help the government at this moment because we fight the COVID-19 spreading together. The administration had requested us for an emergency centre and this tower was the only one that suits the bill. The tower has distinct entry and exit, and has no interface to the one now inhabited. “I am sure there will be more builders coming forward to help,” Arora said.

Antriksh group CMD Rakesh Yadav said he’d be willing to offer more space. “We as this country’s corporate citizens must help the government combat the pandemic,” he added.

Asked regarding the Naredco offer, Narendra Bhooshan, Noida’s COVID-19 Coordination and in reply nodal officer, said, “Several private facilities have been provided to us, but the administration does not possess any of these. We have exacting instructions.

A team of officials from the health department would inspect the site, see if there are people residing near it and whether there is any chance of contamination. We would just take over the facility if it is suitable.