JOIN USThe Anti Pollution Drive (APD) Foundation has concluded its second edition of Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) on outdoor workers of Mangaluru, with an exclusive focus on autorickshaw drivers of the city. The first edition focused on traffic police personnel of Mangaluru and Bengaluru and the study report was published last year.
The first edition focused on traffic police personnel of Mangaluru and Bengaluru and the study report was published last year. The present study of the impact of air pollution on autorickshaw drivers was undertaken in the month of April and the analytical report is ready. A sample of 510 auto drivers was selected from 15 autorickshaw stands in Mangaluru. After isolating the smokers, the sample size was reduced to 405. Among these, 314 drivers (77%) had normal lung functioning. As many as 77 (19%) exhibited restrictive lung functioning and 14 (3.46%) exhibited obstructive lung functioning.
This data shows that around 1/5th of the total sample population has been adversely affected by air pollution. Autorickshaws are the biggest vehicular air pollutants along with city buses and other public transport vehicles.
“Comprehensive preventive measures are urgently needed in this segment of road users to reduce the further impact of pollution on the citizens,” said Abdullah A Rehman, founder of APD Foundation. The report was released by Ivan D’souza, MLC and Chief Whip of the Government in Legislative Council. D’souza is also the president of Auto Rickshaw Owners’ and Drivers’ Association. The report will be forwarded to all Government and non-government agencies concerned with the issue. The study on 'Assessing the Impact of ‘Air Pollutants’ on the Health of Autorickshaw Drivers, Mangaluru' was assigned by APD Foundation as a Social Immersion Project (SIP) to a group of MBA students belonging to IFIM Business School, Bengaluru.
The study team comprised Ajay Ballal, Imad Ul Huq Kola, Poornima Yadav, Priya Cutinho, Rohan Bhaskar Shetty, Shodhan Shetty and Vishwaroop Shetty. The study was conducted under the guidance of their professor-mentors Dr Githa Hegde, Dr Samir Ranjan and Dr R Satish Kumar towards partial fulfilment of the award of the Post-Graduate Diploma in Management during the academic year 2016–2018. The medical analysis and technical supervision of sample collection were done by eminent pulmonologist Dr Don Gregory Mascarenhas of Father Mullers Hospital.
Data presented in the figure states that the majority of autorickshaw drivers have an average driving experience of 10 to 15 years and that the majority of autorickshaw drivers do not have a smoking habit. The number of non-smokers in the sample are 372 (73%).
The study reflects the concentration of samples for respiratory ailments. The two most common ailments faced are cough and breathlessness (37 out of 510). The study has proposed a few solutions to reduce the adverse health impact—Use of air pollution masks, installation of air purifiers, conversion to closed compartment vehicle design, switch over to four-stroke / CNG / electric vehicles, ban on two-stroke engines and smoke emitting vehicles and provision of water supply at rickshaw stands. Strict enforcement of Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Rule 115 /116 of Central Motor Vehicle Rule 1989s in order to encourage better maintenance of vehicles, said Abdullah A Rehman.