City third noisiest in country

City third noisiest in country
Vijay Times

BANGALORE now has the dubious distinction of being the third most noisiest City in the country.

According to a recent survey on noise pollution, Delhi is the noisiest City in the country followed by Kolkata.

Within the State, the City occupies the top spot. It is closely followed by Belgaum, Mangalore, Hubli and Mysore.

The survey, conducted by the Nayaks Hearing Care Centre, has pointed out that noise levels on main roads, in bus stations, railway stations and hotels in the City were way beyond permissible limits.

According to the survey, the noise levels in the City were high. In some places, they ranged between 70 and 100 decibels.

In Mekhri Circle, the noise level was 100 decibels, a level more than what is registered during the blasting of a rock. "A blast produces a noise of 75 decibels," the survey stated.

Nayak Hearing Care Clinic specialist M S J Nayak, who was part of the team that conducted the survey, said, "The sound level recorded at Mekhri Circle in the City explains the sad state of affairs prevailing here. The level of noise, that is 100 decibels, recorded here is almost twice the amount of noise that a human being should hear." "The permissible levels of sound for residential areas is 55 decibels while it is 65 decibels for commercial areas. The sad part is that most of the residential and commercial areas have noise levels that are over permissible levels," he lamented.

"These noise pollution levels cant be ignored as they can have serious consequences. Such high levels of noise can affect ears and concentration levels, apart from increasing mental stress and causing heart problems, " Nayak, who is also an ENT specialist, said.

"Exposing an individual to a sound level of 85 decibels continuously can cause these problems," he added.

Roads such as J C Road, K G Road and M G road in the City have recorded sound levels of 80 decibles.

The specialist said that a considerable number of those from the software industry were prone to be affected by hearing problems.

Suggesting ways to tackle the increase in sound levels, Naik said people should make use of buses and metro rails to commute. Planting saplings around the house could help combat noise pollution as trees could absorb noise.

Talking to BVT, Environmental Officer N Lakshman said, " Fixing acoustic measures for generators and mufler silencers in vehicles can help bring down the noise level".