Residents of New Delhi, the most polluted capital in the world, are suffocating. The duty presents portraits of Indian women fighting for a future where the air will be breathable on construction sites, where the situation is even worse. First of two texts on the impact of air pollution on the poorest in India.
Firecrackers burst loudly in the small village of Gokalpuri, northeast of New Delhi, the Indian capital. Here, the heart is at the party: the inhabitants, all smiles, are preparing to celebrate Diwali – a major festival in the Indian world.
In recent years, however, the festivities have been accompanied by an all-too-familiar unease. During the period surrounding the festival, the burning of fireworks and firecrackers leads to dangerously high levels of air pollution. Many Indians dread this time of year, when the air becomes almost unbreathable.
But for Santosh, a 53-year-old woman from this community, extremely harmful levels of air pollution have been a year-round reality. Like many inhabitants of this village, she has spent her life working on construction sites, the perfect place to be exposed to air pollution.
Construction workers in India’s capital, very often women, face a double burden as they are constantly exposed not only to air pollution, but also to dust and airborne particles in their place. of work. The majority of them do not have access to personal protective equipment, while the levels of air pollution on construction sites in the capital often contravene the laws in force.
The duty met Santosh in his small apartment, in the heart of the village located on the edge of a large construction site. There is only one carpet on the floor in the main room. The pinkish color of the walls is barely perceptible as it is dark inside, even in the middle of the morning.
In her early twenties, Santosh turned to this profession for the money. It’s backbreaking work, but it usually earns between 300 and 400 Indian rupees a day (between 5 and 7 Canadian dollars). Among the jobs that do not require a qualification, this is one of the highest paying.
I would never want my children to work in construction
She left construction in 2017, after 32 years of hard work. His days on construction sites, which consisted mainly of transporting materials, leave him with painful memories. “I had a constant cough when I worked on construction sites. My eyes were burning and running all the time,” she testifies in Hindi.
Do things differently
These symptoms are common among construction workers in the Indian capital. According to Help Delhi Breathe, which is fighting to mobilize people in the face of the air pollution crisis, construction workers are suffering from stress, depression, memory loss and diseases such as silicosis, a lung disorder.
The problem: they are often not aware of the links between their symptoms and the quality of the air. Santosh was also unaware of the impact of the air on her health. Even that on several occasions, she took her children to construction sites when they were younger, without suspecting the risks.
Consequently, few workers demand changes on construction sites. According to a Help Delhi Breathe study of female construction workers, air pollution was not among their top concerns. They also did not understand technical concepts such as fine particles.
The organization therefore launched a vast awareness campaign aimed at female construction workers. For nearly a year, Pooja Prewa, a young student from the community chosen because she is one of the few educated people in her village, has been meeting these workers. It raises their awareness of air pollution issues and teaches them to use and interpret the measurements of the air quality index monitors themselves.
This initiative was carried out in two other communities, so that today more than sixty women have been trained in the use and reading of these monitors.
“We not only need to bring them together to discuss the issues, but also to help them understand the effects of air pollution on their health and that of their families. Several of their children have respiratory problems. They are suffering a lot,” Pooja told the To have to.
Ask for accounts
Santosh has a lump in her throat when she thinks of her children. Now adults, they have managed to break into other areas, to his great relief. “I would never want my children to work in construction. I would never want them to work in all this pollution and heat. I did it so they wouldn’t have to go through all that,” she says emotionally.
She remembers a day when she had to take them to work and wanted to protect them from air pollution. “The director turned off the fan in the room where he slept, claiming that it was wasting electricity,” she said. She said everything was “too much to ask” for site supervisors, such as getting protective gear.
Today, Santosh is finally able to put words to the hurts she has felt for all these years, thanks to Pooja’s initiative. Like her, many workers are now much more aware of the risks associated with air pollution on construction sites — so much so that changes are already taking place on the ground, Pooja notes.
“The community in general has become so much more aware of the air quality problem that women workers have started to hold managers to account,” remarks the young student.
“At the start of the campaign, when I went to the construction sites without my monitor, no one took me seriously. But when we go there with the device and we show them the measurements “in the red”, they start to listen to us [et prennent des mesures] to better protect us,” says Pooja.
And of course, times are changing. In 2021, the capital notably imposed procedures to be followed on construction sites in order to reduce pollution, such as the deployment of anti-smog guns which spray water to reduce dust, the compulsory covering of vehicles transporting materials and l ban on leaving construction waste on the side of the road.
Pooja says she is delighted: “It is a huge step for the protection of workers. »
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.