A traffic police official in Hyderabad is being lauded for saving the life of a man who fell unconscious on the road. In the incident which took place on Thursday, February 23, 45-year-old Balaji Bhukya collapsed onto the ground after he was reported to have suffered from a sudden drop in sodium levels. On seeing this, Rajasekhar, who was the traffic police on duty at the Aramghar junction of the city, rushed to the spot and performed Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Balaji.
In a video that is being circulated on social media, Balaji can be seen lying breathless on the road and the traffic official can be seen performing CPR vigorously until Balaji took one long breath.
Rajendra Nagar traffic cop, Rajashekar saves one 45 year old Balaji Bhukya, who suddenly collapsed on road after drop in his mineral levels in Aramghar Road. Balaji, who is now safe and getting treated says that he is very grateful for the timely intervention of the cop. pic.twitter.com/gwJUzwgM64
— Rajeswari Parasa (@ParasaRajeswari) February 24, 2023
Speaking to TNM, Rajasekhar says that they usually keep a watch on pedestrians who are crossing roads as it's summer and people keep fainting on roads. “However this case was more severe. I saw him suddenly collapsing, rushed to the spot, tried shaking him to wake him up, but there was no response. Then I noticed that there was no breath and pulse was not normal. So we took the call to perform CPR, which we learnt from our training last year. I was giving him fast chest compressions with gaps, a liquid started flowing from his nose and mouth, then by clearing the same, I tried to clear the path for air flow by continuing the CPR. Then he suddenly took a log breath, then I got a sigh of relief,” recalls Rajasekhar.
Soon, the patient was shifted to a nearby private hospital for better treatment. The doctors have told Balaji that he had collapsed due to a sudden drop in sodium levels. “I felt weak, my legs were shaking and suddenly collapsed on the floor and could not breathe. Then I was told that a traffic cop had done CPR on me and saved me. I'm very much thankful to the constable for his timely intervention,” Balaji told TNM.
Balaji is a resident of LB Nagar and works as a daily wage labourer in a market yard in Hyderabad.
In a tweet, Health Minister Harish Rao said, “Highly Appreciate traffic police Rajashekhar of Rajendranagar PS for doing a commendable job in saving precious life by immediately doing CPR. #Telangana. Govt will conduct CPR training to all frontline employees & workers next week inview of increasing reports of such incidents.”
Cyberabad CP Stephen Ravindra, IPS honouring Traffic constable Rajasekhar along with other officials
“At present, the government is giving Basic Life Support (BLS) training through its Traffic Training Institute to all the new traffic cops. And every year, there would be refresher courses as well. We make sure that the cops are equipped with such skills, as in case of untoward incidents, there are also several such incidents where traffic cops saved life of people, which go unnoticed,” says Traffic inspector, Shyam Sunder Reddy, appreciating the efforts of his colleague.