Construction at Kalma Chowk and Garden Town Main Boulevard is posing health hazards to the traffic wardens and constables deployed in the dusty area, Pakistan Today learnt. Thick clouds of dust, resulting from a lack of water-sprinkling, heavy traffic and high scale construction, surround the area as it goes through a major makeover. The road is being widened to accommodate dense traffic inflow resulting from the construction of the Kalma Chowk flyover and Garden Town Main Boulevard underpass.
The traffic wardens, seeking anonymity, complained they were forced to spend eight hours in dusty conditions where visibility was nearly zero. They said they had complained many times but no one seemed to be bothered. “All this area needs is a little water-sprinkling,” said one of the constables. A traffic warden standing at the Barkat Market intersection said he had sent various messages to environment department officers, but no one dampened the area except once or twice.
“Water sprinklers should be used every hour here,” he added. Another constable said though all constables were given face masks, their eyes were getting affected by the dust and stayed red all the time. However, Chief Traffic Officer Ahmad Mobin claimed the city administration was doing a good job in handling the dust. “Whenever we ask for water sprinklers they are given to us,” he said. He said the face masks were enough for protection.
A medical practitioner, Dr Ayesha said dust could cause many problems including allergies, asthma and vision problems.
