Vol. 10, Issue 3 (2021)

Author(s):
Neha Arya and Promila Sharma

Abstract:
Uttarakhand, is the land of snow peaks, glorious green hill-slopes and mountains. There are many ancient temples and buildings in the region which were constructed over a period of time under the influence of the local culture, geo-climatic conditions, topography and locally available materials. For the human comfort, buildings are designed using locally available materials and construction technology according to the climate and topography of the hilly areas. Acute and prolonged jobless condition of the local people has easily attracted by the employment opportunities offered by the stone masonry work in hills. Therefore, stone masonry work become an important sector in hilly areas and flourishing rapidly due to increasing demand of the infrastructure. Stone masonry work is one of the most dangerous informal sectors to work because of the enormous health hazards associated with this work. Occupational health hazards and associated injuries, pain and discomfort are more pronounced in manual stone operations. Therefore the present study was planned with the objective; to assess the occupational health hazards, common injuries, pain and discomfort faced by stone masonry workers. The present study was purposively conducted in Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand in Nainital district under Dhari block. A total of 120 male stone masonry workers were randomly selected for the study. Checklist was adopted by researcher for assessing occupational health hazards, common injuries, pain and discomfort among workers. The results revealed that workers were suffering from ergonomic, physical, psychosocial, biological and environmental hazards. They also experienced crushing injuries from tools and stones, cuts; wounds were also reported by workers. Pain and discomfort was felt by workers while doing activities. A significant relationship was found between musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational hazards.