Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore, the cleanest city in India for seven consecutive years, has seen a remark- able decline in respiratory illnesses, attributing it to rigorous cleanliness initia- tives. Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) focus on making Indore 'dust- free' has resulted in nearly 50% reduction in cases of respiratory illness among adults and kids, in three years.
As per the record of Health Department's non- communicable diseases wing, cases of chronic ob- structive pulmonary dis-ease (COPD) have nose- dived from 278 in 2021-22 to 150 in 2023-24.
Similarly, childhood asth- ma cases have also de- creased significantly, from 904 to 488 during the same period, i.e. by 46.02%.
"Indeed cases of respira- tory illness have declined by at least 20%.
The cases of asthma in kids have also seen a signifi- cant decline and numbers are decreasing," pulmonolo-gist Dr Ravi Dosi said. He added that reason behind the same was obviously the cleanliness. Better results would be visible in coming years. "The impact is yet to be seen as the number of children coming for asthma treatment has already diminished," Dr Dosi said. Dr Salil Bhargava, professor of respiratory medicine, MGM Medical College, too accepted the significant drop in cases but refrained from quoting the figures sans any registry of the same.
Aiming To Go Dust Free
Next time if you witness a yellow vehicle running on the edges of road sweeping and cleaning with water, thank the waste management system of the city. The vehicles maintain over a stretch of 700 km in the city ensuring that the city is dirt free
