Andhra Pradesh - Srikakulam   

When sound becomes a menace to peaceful life

Srikakulam: Sound pollution is causing an irreparable damage to human physiology particularly to the ear drums which are crucial for hearing. In these days of people being subjected to the vagaries of multiple types of pollution including atmospheric and sound, many are unaware about the perils of sound pollution.

This pollution has today reached such alarming proportions that it is difficult to find a place free from it on city roads with the unending motor vehicle traffic. Hospitals, schools and places of worship are today located in places where hectic vehicular traffic has become the order of the day.

Thousands of citizens particularly the aged and the retired who love to be away from the hustle and bustle of city traffic have no option but to live with it.According to the World Health Organisation stipulations, one should not be subjected to hearing of more than 45 decibels of sound intensity as anything beyond would prove to be injurious to the hearing system particularly the ear drums. The maximum sound intensity that a healthy person can be subjected to is 65 decibles. The ability to absorb sound waves and its intensity differs from situation to situation. For example a person while asleep cannot absorb more than 35 db of sound.

The ground reality is that the average citizen is being subjected to sound pollution of 100 to 200 db and more.

Many older people feel mentally harassed and subjected to pain and mental torture. The indiscriminate use of air horns in city limits and in the vicinity of residential areas apart from use of musical horns and other horns is making life a misery to the average citizen and more so to the older people who desire a bit of peace. Sound pollution caused by indiscriminate blowing of horns is also sometimes resulting in road mishaps, says G. Kondal Rao, field publicity officer, Ministry of Information, Government of India. The field publicity department, he said, was engaged in creating awareness among the pillon riders and other motor vehicle operators through students, NSS cadets and National Cadet Corps both in urban and rural areas. Sound pollution is understandable with the increasing motor vehicle traffic both light and heavy motor vehicles. There are nearly 90,000 two wheelers, 3000 cars and 2000 heavy vehicles in the district which had been contributing to sound and atmospheric pollution. Traffic Circle Inspector J. Eliyasagar told The Hindu that the present Motor Vehicle Act for tackling sound pollution and regulating vehicular horns is inadequate.

He however said that those two wheelers using musical horns and others who were misusing them were being penalised.

He said that auto-rickshaws using loud speakers for entertaining the customers with film songs were also being fined as they were causing traffic obstruction by their insensitiveness to the movements of other vehicles.

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When sound becomes a menace to peaceful life

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