Already billed as the world’s worst livable city, Dhaka city has now become one of the most hazardous cities in the country, with noise pollution going beyond acceptable limits.
However, no one seems to be bothered about its harmful impact on residents.
Honking, including fog horns by vehicles to loud speakers, brick chip manufacturing machines, concrete mixers, iron or aluminium door, and tiles cutters, industrial motors and all sorts of machines for constructions during day and night are
contributing to this cacophony.
A survey by the department of environment (DoE), released in Dhaka yesterday, showed that the decibel level at Farm Gate and Moghbazar areas has exceeded the permissible limits of 45-60 to 130 decibel in the city.
The survey, conducted between April-June by DoE-appointed consultants from a non-government organisation, Working for Better Bangladesh (WBB), found the situation deteriorating not only in Dhaka, but also in Chittagong, the country’s second
largest city.
A similar situation is witnessed in Sylhet where buses and trucks use horns that are prohibited, the survey said.
All these are taking place despite the Noise Pollution Act 2006 that bars the use of noise-making construction equipment after evening.
Random honking is prohibited in certain areas where hospitals and educational institutions are located. Use of loudspeakers is also prohibited without permission in residential areas, barring religious functions and processions.
Certain residential areas like Dhanmondi and Gulshan are noise-free. A walk down Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue to Jahangir Gate, beginning at the Shahbagh intersection which has been declared a noise-free zone by the police, will drive one mad.
“All vehicles, including three-wheelers, cars, motorcycles and buses and trucks, are using horns relentlessly as if their drivers think that the vehicles ahead will make way for them because of such incessant honking,” said Hossain, a traffic policeman
yesterday.
He expressed helplessness to stop the errant drivers as they do not care for the signs posted on the road where two major hospitals — the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetics and Metabolic Disorder (BIRDEM) – are located.
This stretch of road also houses the Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital. Patients and doctors face severe inconvenience because of the constant honking, even though the police have declared the intersection a noise-free zone, posting a red notice in bold type at the intersection that covers parts of Maulana Bhashani Road.
Constant honking damages the hearing ability of people on the road and living in roadside buildings, said one of the WBB consultants who
conducted the survey.
It also reduces the life span, he added quoting a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) study that says exposure to noise pollution leads to hypertension and other related problems cutting on life expectancy.
Residents not only face immense inconvenience on the roads, but also at night when some people suddenly start playing music at high volume on their stereo speakers placed on rooftops during pre-nuptial ceremonies.
Loud noise causes hearing loss for old people and infants. It also damages their hearts, pushing blood pressure up and interrupting their sleep, said the consultant, preferring anonymity.
DoE officials said they are unable to enforce the rules to prevent the use of loud horns and loudspeakers in residential areas or near hospitals and schools.
“We have been conducting mobile courts with the help of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and the police. Some fog horns have been seized. But the drivers have not learnt any lesson. They go back and refit the horns,” they said. Police sources said they had seized about 1,500 horns during drives this year.
But despite fines and seizures, no progress can be made unless the mindset of drivers changes and they are ready to abide by the rules, the WBB said.