Saturday, Dec 14, 2002
Saturday, Dec 14, 2002 |
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Karnataka
By M. Raghuram
The public transport vehicles are known for speed and those on the wheel for rash driving. The RTO and the Traffic Police have not been able to check them. The horns that are fixed to them are fit for trains, according to a survey made by the local engineering college. The decibel level recorded was a phenomenal 120. Yet, the police and the RTO have done little to curb it. Over 1,000 schedules are operated every day, and each trip is a hell for commuters as well as other road users as the drivers in their bid to have the way cleared blow the horn hard giving a scare to the people on the road. It is common to see buses violating no-horn zones near hospitals and schools in the city. Does the blowing of horn hard amount to violation of human rights? Yes, says Justice M.F.Saldanha of the Karnataka High Court. It was so because it forced noise pollution on commuters and road users. He said that in public vehicles the Motor Vehicles Act provided for use of only horns that were manufactured or fitted by the manufacturer as an original equipment. Any alteration done by the user amounted to violation of the Act. He said that an aggrieved person could file a public interest litigation (PIL) and there were good chances of it being admitted by the High Court. The audiologist, Rajesh More of the AIIMS, New Delhi, who is an authority on disorders connected with ears, says that extensive and intensive exposure to sudden fits of high pitch sounds can lead to disorder of the Cochlear and result in mental disorders such as irritability, tendency to commit suicide, and irrational behaviour in normal adults. In children, it can lead to sudden loss of hearing ability, depression, and loss of concentration. The superintendents of police who have served here for the past five years have tried to end this noise menace, but the "strong" transport lobby apparently is having its way. Recently, the Superintendent of Police, Seemanth Kumar Singh, directed bus operators to use "bulb horns" in the city, and proposed assistance to the operators in procuring and fixing them to the vehicles. But, the bus operators have come up with the argument that the driver needs to use both hands to control the vehicle, especially in Mangalore, where the driving conditions are highly demanding. The RTA Chairman and the Deputy Commissioner, A.K.Monnappa, had supported the move of the police on bulb horns. He told this correspondent that his office was flooded with complaints about shrill horns, and sooner or later the use of shrill horns would be discontinued and instead the low intensity electrical horns or bulb horns would be used. But the RTO, who should take suo motu action against users of shrill horns, is yet to act. The district authorities are content with the "sham" shrill horn control measures undertaken once in a while in the city. They remove the plastic funnels connected to the vacuum units that cost less than Rs. 25 for a pair and leave untouched the vacuum unit that costs Rs. 3,000. During the next trip, new funnels are fixed and the horns blare as usual.
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