The BMC has returned a part of Worli’s National Sports Club of India back to the club management, retaining only the dome and some rooms for treating Covid-19 patients and lodging doctors.

NSCI was the city’s first jumbo Covid-19 centre and it was also at the centre of several innovations, including the use of cargo containers as ICUs. With the club opening up again for sporting activities and events, it will mimic the city’s slow return to normalcy even as the battle against the virus continues.

On Saturday, Mumbai Mirror photographer captured some club members playing tennis, a sight for sore eyes. However, the club said it will take a few days before more sporting arenas are opened.

“Cyclone Nisarg caused a lot of damage. All that will have to be taken care of and new safety protocols for members will have to be put in place. But we will be back in business soon,” said an official who did not wish to be identified.

What will also need resolution before the sprawling club kicks back to life is a disagreement between the club with the BMC over how much the former should be paid for the facilities that municipal corporation has used over the last six months. For instance, the club feels that it should be paid the rate decided for five-star hotels — Rs 4,500 a day — for its lodging rooms. The BMC is willing to pay only Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 a day, saying the NSCI is a club and not a five-star hotel. The club has also rejected what the BMC is proposing to pay it for the dome.

BMC officials on Saturday said the dome currently has 80 per cent occupancy and with the city once again reporting over 2,000 cases a day, the dome will continue to operate as a jumbo centre till at least the end of the year. The lodging rooms, however, will be returned in a phased manner. “We have returned all parts of the NSCI complex except some lodging rooms and the dome. The club house, restaurants, their offices and sports facilities are back with the management. We have barricaded the Covid-19 centre from the rest of the complex,” said Sharad Ughade, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G-South Ward.

In April, when the Covid-19 pandemic began peaking, the NSCI complex was the first to be acquired by the BMC and converted into a Covid-19 jumbo centre. Worli Koliwada, which also falls under the G-South Ward, was the city’s first containment zone. The centre was set up with the help of Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, who managed it till recently with a team of 10 doctors and 30 nurses from his institute, and 30 volunteers and BMC employees. “NSCI became a model for all jumbo centres. It also became a centre for Covid-19 innovations and a testing ground for contactless testing and use of Artificial Intelligence. It was a big team effort and we got a lot of help from Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray and the BMC,” Dr Lakdawala said.

The club opened the tennis courts for its members on Saturday. Not very far from the tennis courts is the dome, where Covid-19 patients are being treated. On Saturday, the occupancy at the dome was 80 per cent

Before the pandemic hit, NSCI was one of the city’s largest sports venues with more than 38,000 sq ft of space for various sports — both indoors and outdoors — and seating capacity of about 10,000. The centre so far has treated over 4,000 cases, including cancer patients, pregnant women, and patients with serious comorbidities.

Remarkably, not a single staff member of centre has yet tested positive.

When asked about the dispute over the room rent and rent for the dome, Ughade said that the BMC has received a representation from the NSCI management. “The management has said that they want room rent in the 5-star category, but it is a club and it is not eligible for a 5-star category. Similarly, they have asked the BMC to pay commercial rent for the dome too. We are examining their demands,” Ughade said.

NSCI Managing Committee member Viren Shah said that the restaurants and banquet halls will reopen soon. “The restaurants Viceroy and Maharaja will open soon. One of the restaurants that the club runs on its own will take time since there are some basic repairs that need to be done. We are also opening the banquet halls, Price and Emperor and the terrace for events,” he said.

“For now, since only outdoor sports are allowed, we have opened the tennis courts. Once the government allows indoor sports, we will also open badminton courts and other indoor sports facilities. The turf will also be thrown open soon. We are happy that the NSCI could help the city in such trying times,” Shah said.