Pune, April 23, 2020: The Azam campus masjid, which is one of the biggest in Pune, will be used as quarantine centre for Coronavirus COVID19 patients. The management of the mosque and Pune district administration has joined hands for the same.
Given the increasing prevalence of corona infection in the central suburbs of Pune, the management had indicated its readiness to hand over the premises of the Azam campus located in Camp area, which is adjacent to Bhavani Peth, Nana Peth, where most of the patients have been detected, to the administration for quarantine of suspected patients.
Dr PA Inamdar, president of Haji Gulam Mohammed Azam Education Trust, “After getting approval from the administration, we started preparation and have readied the floor. We will also provide food to people housed at the mosque. Corona is an international crisis and as a responsible citizen, we are ready to fulfil our duty as an organization in the government’s efforts to address it. It is time to lend our resources to the government.”
The management of Azam Campus had indicated its readiness to provide 9,000 square feet of space on the first floor of the place of worship with all electricity, fans, toilets and parking facilities. In a letter to the district collector, Inamdar said that he was ready to provide breakfast, meals, to the police and government officials as well as the patients.
There are 30 educational institutions of Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education (MCE) society in Azam Campus and it is spread over 24 acres. One of them already has a mosque. The first floor of the mosque has a 9,000-square-foot hall-like floor. It can be converted into a quarantine ward. Schools and colleges in the educational buildings here are currently closed. The management is proposing to provide more space when needed, informed Dr Inamdar.
At present, 25 doctors of Unani Medical College on the campus and their five ambulances are serving patients in the central (Peth) areas of Pune. Also, Azam Campus has so far distributed groceries worth over Rs 25 lakh to the needy. Dr Inamdar has also appealed Muslims to perform prayers (namaz) at home without going to mosques during the holy month of Ramadan (Ramzan).
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, all establishment including schools, colleges, shops, offices etc are closed across the country. Only essential commodities shops are allowed to function. In Pune, the number of Coronavirus positive patients has reached 800 and 56 of them have died while 122 have been cured till now.
