New Delhi: From installing air purifiers to keeping oxygen cylinders on standby, old age homes in Delhi are sparing no effort to safeguard the well-being of their occupants amid the worsening air quality in the national capital. The city’s retirement homes have also advised its residents, especially those with breathing problems, to avoid going out and instead engage in physical activities and yoga indoors. Rajeshwari Mishra, secretary of Shiv Ashray Old Age Home in north Delhi’s Rohini said,
We have pro-actively placed emergency oxygen cylinders around the property to address any respiratory concerns due to the rising air pollution.
Bhopinder Singh, trustee, Aashirvad Old Age Home corroborated Ms Mishra’s views, saying the occupants at their retirement home have been asked to avoid going out early morning or late evening.
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The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has installed air purifiers inside the rooms of all its old age homes and is encouraging the occupants to enrol themselves in yoga classes. NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said,
We take year-round measures like maintaining horticultural work, sprinkling water and having yoga classes for those residing in our old age homes. Now, we have strengthened these measures in view of the rising pollution levels. All the rooms in NDMC old age homes have air purifiers to ensure that the residents breathe clean air.
According to those running the old age homes, they are also focussing on providing a healthy diet to their occupants to strengthen their immunity. Ved Prakash Bhardwaj, trustee, Naya Savera, said,
All senior citizens and vulnerable groups can’t wear masks all the time due to breathing issues. So, our main focus is to keep them indoors and give them a healthy diet.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) said they have not received any complaints about health issues among senior citizens due to air pollution in their shelter homes.
Despite a marginal dip in the air quality index on Tuesday, the concentration of PM2.5 in Delhi’s air, which constitutes particulate matter capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory system and triggering health problems – exceeded the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
Doctors have said that prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause or exacerbate the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may increase the chances of cardiovascular disease.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
