BMC says lack of ventilation makes people working in such structures
more prone to respiratory problems.
Concerned about the increasing number of people working in swank glass façade buildings suffering from various health problems, the municipal corporation has decided to appoint a microbiologist as an infection control officer.
The officer will not only survey such buildings and suggest recommendations, but will also train civic engineers from the building proposals and development plan departments to give them an insight into the problem.
“These civic officers will be trained to check not only the ventilation in such buildings and also if the structures are safe from the health point of view. Since the engineers directly discuss the plans with the architects, they should be able to argue with them,” said a senior civic official.
Glass façade buildings are mushrooming in the city, but people do not realise that they are a hotbed for infections and contagious diseases and are not even fire-secure, as there are hardly any openings that can be used in emergency.
Proper ventilation in buildings, which allow sunlight, helps kill bacteria. But these so-called eco-friendly structures the glass absorb and radiates excessive heat. And, in case of fire, the heat helps the flames spread quickly.
That’s why most people working in such buildings often complain of continuous cough and cold and viral infections. Persistent upper respiratory problems also lead to severe health disorders.
“In fact, we have case studies wherein people working in closed doors without proper ventilation for a long periods of time tend to develop infections frequently. Such cases have prompted us to take the decision of appointing a separate cell to look into the problem,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner.
She said the issue come up for debate in the municipal corporation when they were discussing the fire safety risk of glass façade buildings.
“That’s when we raised the issue of health hazards among the staff. Also, the risk of fire in such buildings is very high. The recent incident of a fire breaking out in a building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex was like an alarm for the fire department. It was fortunate that building was not being used,” said the additional municipal commissioner.
On September 7, when a fire broke out in a glass facade building in BKC, a few firefighters reportedly sustained
injuries as they had to break the glass panels in order to control the blaze.
Mhaiskar said the appointment of the infection control officer will be done soon and the officer have his own team to visit and survey such buildings.
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