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Bad roads take a toll on bus drivers
The orthopedic department of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) hospital at Tarnaka is flooded with patients (read bus drivers) who have been making a beeline to the hospital complaining of cervical spondylosis and lumbar spondylosis.
Hyderabad: The orthopedic department of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) hospital at Tarnaka is flooded with patients (read bus drivers) who have been making a beeline to the hospital complaining of cervical spondylosis and lumbar spondylosis.
The gravity of the problem is so severe that every day nearly 180 patients go to the orthopedic department. Out of which 70 per cent of them are bus drivers. Dr Raj Kumar, Department of Orthopedics, TSRTC Hospital gave four reasons for the health issues that affect bus drivers.
Highlights:
- Nearly 180 patients visit TSRTC Hospital in Tarnaka
- Majority of them are bus drivers who are referred to orthopedic department
- Two out of every four patients complain of back pain
- 70 per cent of 8,848 bus drivers in the Greater Hyderabad region suffer from cervical spondylosis and lumbar spondylosis
The bus drivers end up with back and neck pain due to bad quality of roads, bad posture while sitting, the quality of seats and long hours of duty, explained Raj Kumar. Though bus drivers have been grappling with these health issues for long, the problems worsened in the last few months as the roads in the city deteriorated after the heavy showers in the recent past.
A bus driver in Greater Hyderabad region who works for 8 hours is as good as working for 12 hours to 13 hours. Stress of driving on bad roads can take a toll on one’s health.
“We spend maximum time on the road steering,” said Srinivas, a driver. Hectic schedule of drivers leaves little time to take of their health. “At times drivers do double duty and there is hardly any time for them to take care of their health,” said Dr Srikanth of TSRTC Hospital.
“Drivers do not take care of their food habits and physical fitness and as a result it leads to degeneration of disc,” he said.
There are 8,848 bus drivers in Greater Hyderabad region working in 29 bus depots who are battling with cervical and lumbar spondylosis. Raghu, a bus driver, said the common man does not know the problems driver has to go through. “We just get a 10-minute break after two trips and most of the working hours are behind the wheel,” he said.
Sultana, a wife of driver S Khan, said that people queue up at the hospital right from 6 am as there is no guarantee that they would get an appointment. Also there are many referral cases from districts.
With the growing number of patients queuing up at the hospital, the two doctors are unable to do justice. “If one were to cater even 5 minutes to a patient it would take 6 to 7 hours at the hospital,” said Dr Raj Kumar. It’s time the government comes to the rescue of drivers.
