Awareness on swachh bharat and exposure to air pollution among construction workers in rural area of Tamil Nadu, India – A pilot study

Authors : Niranjan Muralikrishnan, Rajeswaran Thiagesan

DOI : 10.18231/2394-2738.2018.0026

Volume : 5

Issue : 2

Year : 0

Page No : 116-119

Introduction: The clean India initiative named as Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA) is India’s flagship program which provides impetus to sanitation, hygiene and micro environment like our immediate surroundings but it has few evidences about its trickling down (awareness levels) among rural masses.
Objective:To find the awareness and knowledge levels on SBA among rural construction workers and to explore impact on respiratory system due to unhealthy environment.
Materials and Method:Four villages were selected from Kanchipuram district and one village was selected randomly. To field test the questionnaire fifty construction workers were identified and data was analysed. Frequencies for some variables and association analysis was done between the subject’s year of exposure to dust/occupation and years of exposure to tobacco with lung volume.
Results: The term ‘Swachh Bharat’ was known by 53.3% and samples who were knowing the aims of the program was 50%. This study came out with a result that 93.3% of the samples reported they open defecate. There was no association was found between years of exposure and lung volumes. Normal lung volume was only 10% prevalent among the samples.
Conclusion:SBA Mission needs to be more rigour in spreading its goals among the rural parts. Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) must be supplied and made mandatory to these construction workers in rural areas to make their working environment more efficient.

Keywords: Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, SBA, ODF, Air Pollution, Construction workers, Lung Compromise


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