Crack down on noise pollution’

Crack down on noise pollution’

Staff Reporter

Act against those who honk unnecessarily: former judge

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Seeking action: Members of Mission Peace participating in an awareness campaign on noise pollution on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: Expressing concern over the increasing assault on the ears, Mission Peace, working to control noise pollution in the city, has appealed to the public to desist from unnecessary honking.

Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, former judge of the Karnataka High Court Michael F. Saldanha urged the Government to strictly control noise pollution.

He suggested that the entire Bangalore should be made a silent zone and stern action initiated against those who honk unnecessarily.

He wanted the Government to issue a notification to control honking and declare areas around hospitals and schools as silent zones.

Noise check should be made mandatory. He suggested that the Government provide hand-held noise meters to the RTO and traffic police to help them check needless honking. Rejecting the notion that removing the silencer increased mileage in autorickshaws, M.L. Munjal, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, said the resultant increase in noise level could lead the drivers themselves to suffer from ear-related problems.

Hefty fines should be levied and the vehicles of the offenders seized.

Director of HOSMAT Thomas Chandy urged the Government to declare one day every month as “no-honking day”. Noise pollution led to many problems, including hypertension, and adversely affected the working atmosphere.