A day after mid-day, in its front-page report, highlighted a shortage of trained and experienced doctors in the PMC amid a surge in cases, the civic body decided to increase the starting salary to Rs 50,000 from Rs 30,000. Medical professionals were reluctant to join the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) due to the extremely low pay package. They had said that other corporations offer almost double the salary at Rs 60,000.

The PMC has also outsourced their dedicated COVID Centre in Kalamboli, which is yet to be opened, to a private agency to man and run it, starting today.