Is the City getting too loud?

Is the City getting too loud?
Shubham Shukla
Bangalore has earned yet another distinction and a dubious one at that of being the second noisiest city in India!

Bangalore has earned yet another distinction and a dubious one at that — of being the second noisiest city in India! Travelling on Bangalore roads may increase your heart rate, blood pressure and blood cholesterol. It may even cause stress disorder, which could further develop into ulcers or high blood pressure. Riding on these roads may also harm your respiratory and digestive systems or make you deaf!

These facts aren’t made up to scare you. The noise levels in some areas in Bangalore can actually cause the above mentioned health problems, says Krishna Balamurali who is currently heading activities of N V Dynamics, an Engineering Solutions Company offering services in the area of noise, vibration and related dynamics. According to the organisation, continuous exposure to noise with a volume of more than 70 decibels can lead to permanent hearing damage, they added that noise levels in many areas of Bangalore has reached that level.
N V Dynamics has put together their research in the table (in picture) which depicts the growing noise levels in various areas of Bangalore.

"The figures are disturbing in terms of the rate at which the vehicular traffic is growing in our metros, especially in Bangalore. At this rate, the numbers are very likely to touch 100dB by the year 2010 which is simply an intolerable limit," states N V Dynamics in one of its presentations.

Who will pay price for this?
It will harm every one, including animals and footpath dwellers. But pregnant woman, infants and children may be seriously harmed by exposure to this type of noise.

How to protect yourself?
N V Dynamics has come up with some solutions in the form of hearing protection devices which decrease the intensity of sound that reaches the eardrum. They come in two forms: earplugs and earmuffs.

Earplugs: Earplugs are small inserts that fit into the outer canal. To be effective, they must totally block the ear canal with an airtight seal. They are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit individual ear canals and can be custom made. For people who have trouble keeping them in their ears, they can be fitted to a headband.

Earmuffs: Earmuffs fit over the entire outer ear to form an air seal.

They are held in place by an adjustable band. Earmuffs must be snugly sealed so the entire circumference of the ear canal is blocked. Properly fitted earplugs or muffs reduce noise by 15 to 30 dB of sound.

The earplugs and earmuffs are approximately equally effective in sound reduction. However, earplugs are better protection against low frequency noise (such as noise from a jackhammer), and earmuffs are better protection against high frequency noise, (such as noise from an airplane taking off).


Location 23/07/2002 19/12/2006 Increase

Queens circle / Iexp junction 73-76 87-91 12 dB (200%)
Kempegowda junction 75-79 89-94 12 dB (200%)
Gandhibazar/RK Math 70-73 79-85 9 dB (150%)
St.Johns hospital Junction 77-82 87-95 12 dB (200%)
Location 23/07/2002 19/12/2006 Increase
YMCA / Martha's Hospital 74-77 88-96 12 dB (200%)
Ananda Rao Circle 79-82 82-87 6 dB (100%)
WCR / Magadi Junc. 73-76 83-87 10 dB (170%)
MG Road / Brigade
unc 77-82 87-95 12 dB (200%)


Study on noise

Noise levels
We are conducting another study that will tell us how noisy Bangalore is as compared to the rest of India," says Krishna Balamurali. The results are rather surprising, "As of now, Bangalore is emerging as the second noisiest city in the country." The government is still not taking the problem seriously, he added.

This sounded true as the State Pollution Control Board seemed disinterested in talking about noise levels in Bangalore. "We only deal with air and water pollution," is what they had to say. The Transport Commissioner was unavailable for comments.

Moreover, Krishna insists that the government is not asking the question, ‘What will happen when the metro gets working?’

He offers an answer: “There will be concrete on both sides, the noise pollution on MG Road will increase exponentially. And to top it, they have chopped off trees too."