94% women construction workers don't raise voice against air pollution for fear of job loss: Study
New Delhi(PTI): Ninety-four percent women construction workers, surveyed as part of a study conducted in Delhi, never raised their voice or took any steps to prevent the negative impact of air pollution due to the fear of losing their jobs.
Purpose India and Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) jointly executed a project with women construction workers from Bakkarwala, Gokulpuri and Sawda Ghevra in Delhi from August 2021 to April 2022 to mobilize and enable them to understand the impact of air pollution on them and their children's health and, by doing so, build knowledge and pressure among local governments to support policy and action.
A baseline study was conducted among 390 women construction workers to understand their priorities and issues in their lives, and articulate the impact of air pollution on this group.
The sample households were characterized by respondents majorly in the age groups 36 years and above, mostly illiterate or low educational levels, predominance of Scheduled castes, followed by OBC and a majority (87 percent) were married.
Around 85 percent of the women agreed that air pollution has a negative impact on human health, 75 percent reported that they feel sick or uncomfortable when the air quality is bad, it said.
More than three-fourths of the respondents believed that working at construction sites is harmful for their health.
The study said 76 percent of women were aware of the problem of air pollution, the source of information being television (61 percent), peer group (41 percent) and school going children/ family members (45 percent).
All the participants were ignorant about the terms PM 2.5, PM 10 and air quality index, it said.
"Ninety-four percent women never raised their voice or took any steps to prevent the negative impact of air pollution due to the fear of losing their jobs," it claimed.
Some also felt that preventing air pollution at construction sites is the sole responsibility of the contractors and they themselves are not liable for it, it said.
Only six percent women took steps to prevent the negative effects of air pollution (using masks, dupatta to cover their face, wore full sleeved clothes; tried to raise concerns relating to air pollution at construction sites, sprinkled water on debris, etc.).
Ninety percent of the participants opined that the government should improve public transport so that better off sections of society do not use vehicles to commute for work, it said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
