Every day, frontline workers, including traffic police personnel, bus drivers, construction workers and pourakarmikas, work amid exhaust fumes and dust. Unlike those who can retreat indoors when the air turns bad, they often have no choice but to remain. A screening initiative conducted by the Vaayu Occupational & Environmental Respiratory Illness Clinic (VOERIC) is now drawing attention to their health concerns and the need to do more.
At a roundtable discussion titled Protecting Those Who Protect Our City, Dr Ravindra Mehta, founder of VAAYU Chest & Sleep Specialists, presented findings from a programme that has screened over 11,000 frontline workers since Nov 2023. “Reduced lung function was found in 29.5 per cent of BMTC personnel, 28 per cent of traffic police personnel, 15 per cent of construction workers and 45 per cent of pourakarmikas. It also flagged concerns around diabetes and high blood pressure,” he said.
But the findings put the spotlight on what happens after a worker is told that something is wrong. Attendees including Dr Arvinda, NIMHANS, called for a more structured occupational health system, with regular respiratory assessments.
For Dr Siddhartha Mandala, assistant professor, public health, IISc, the solution must extend beyond individuals, suggesting measuring pollution and health indicators in a neighbourhood, saying, “We could see whether air pollution decreases with an intervention and measure the same parameters a month later.”
A student volunteer at the discussion, Dhruv NK, highlighted disparity in healthcare access between corporate and public employees, saying, “If I want to visit a doctor, I can take sick leave easily. It does not work the same way in traffic police or BMTC.”
Awareness to action?
Policymakers called for better coordination between departments handling health, transport, labour and the environment, alongside measures to address construction dust, waste management and traffic congestion. Dr CN Manjunath, Member of Parliament from Bengaluru Rural and former Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, and Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr Vivek Jawali highlighted the cardiovascular impact.
Speaking with CE, Dr Mehta urged people to pay attention to recurring symptoms, and speak to their doctors. He explained that people must take individual measures to reduce our carbon footprint too. “People don’t like masks but they are the only thing which can save you.” he said, adding, “Take small steps till the big ones happen.”
