Noise from vehicles annoying people

Noise from vehicles annoying people

The Hindu

Increasing number of vehicles is causing concern among residents


Bangalore: Residents in almost all zones of the city find noise pollution unbearable and the cumulative noise from traffic is to blame, they say. Fifty-three per cent of schools and 80 per cent of hospitals say they are affected by high air pollution, again from vehicle emission.

These are part of the findings in the first Environmental Report Card of Bangalore prepared by the Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD) released on Saturday. The growing number of vehicles and its effects is a common concern among the households and non-residential establishments surveyed.

The study divided Bangalore's 100 wards into three zones and 1,200 households and other establishments were questioned and the responses collated for the report.

There is high level of satisfaction about water supply except in the east zone where only 39 per cent are satisfied. Overall, 49 per cent of households rely only on BWSSB and 10.6 per cent augment it with water from borewells.

Ninety per cent of households are satisfied with the water quantity and 98.8 per cent with water quality but 21 per cent of hospitals find unacceptable odour in the water. While 30.6 per cent families consume less than 10,000 litres a month, 29.9 per cent use 10 to 20,000 litres. Many are concerned that drinking water is misused or wasted.

The study has water samples tested: five out of nine samples had high bacterial content. Close to 41 per cent households filter their drinking water and 0.7 per cent have gone for rainwater harvesting. The maintenance of storm water drains was felt not satisfactory and 54 per cent felt they were not cleaned regularly. Lowest level of satisfaction was in the east zone.

A very large (90 per cent) section is satisfied with the sewerage system and 88 per cent had household waste collected at their doorstep. But the final disposal was a serious concern without any sanitary landfill near the city.

Air and noise pollution from vehicles alarmed many respondents. Field tests during the survey showed suspended particle matter (SPM) in the air above prescribed norms in all areas; noise levels were highest in the east zone. Travel time for commuters increased overall by 75 per cent because of traffic congestion; only 34.6 per cent needed to spend less than 30 minutes to work. In regard to transportation, 45.5 per cent travel by buses, 30.5 per cent have two-wheelers and 7 per cent cars. In all zones, 61.3 per cent reported traffic congestion "always" and 50 to 70 per cent in all zones were satisfied by the green cover and 30 per cent visited public parks.

Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan, who released the report, said most urban environmental problems were caused by human greed. The suggestions in the report should be taken seriously by the Government and be a model for other cities, he said. CSD Chairman A. Ravindra said the report can become an annual feature.