Many countries prohibit the honking of vehicle horns at random, which is distressingly common here. Horn is supposed to be used solely as a warning to prevent accidents. However, in Bangladeshi cities, where traffic intersections are perpetually chaotic and lawless, vehicles honk incessantly. Most drivers are seen senselessly honking even while stuck in traffic, as if the honking engaged magical powers that got the traffic moving. They even show no regard for hospitals, convalescent homes, educational institutions, or areas designated as "Silent Zones."
In a bid to address the growing concern over noise pollution, a three-kilometre area surrounding Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has been designated as a 'Silent Zone.' Officially launched on October 1, this initiative will gradually expand to different parts of the city, and then spread to the whole of Dhaka and other divisional cities.
It seems somewhat incongruous that HSIA is the first area to be targeted by the interim government, considering the thunderous noise emitted by the airplane engines. Anyone who lives under a flight path will vouch that deafening sounds rattle them up every time a plane flies overhead. But yet change for the better has to begin somewhere.
Earlier in 2019, the streets surrounding the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka was designated as a silent or 'no horn zone'. But a study by the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) found Bangladesh Secretariat area has the highest noise pollution levels in Dhaka.
As per the Noise Pollution Control Rules 2006, silent zones are areas where the decibel level is to be kept under 50 dB during the day and 40 dB during the night. CAPS, however, recorded highest level of noise pollution at silent zones around the Secretariat. The noise levels on this road exceed safe limits for 14 hours a day. The peak noise level recorded was 115 decibels at the Gulistan zero point, with an average noise level ranging from 90 to 100 decibels throughout the day.
The average noise level in Dhaka is double the tolerable limit set by global health standards. One of the most distressing sources of noise pollution is the piercing hydraulic horn, still in use by trucks and inter-district buses. Use of the hydraulic horn in vehicles was banned decades ago but this prohibition, like many other rules and interdictions, remain on paper only. So, simply designating areas as 'Silent Zones' will not be enough; much will depend on how effectively the laws are enforced and how awareness is raised.
While the 'Silent Zone' initiative aims to address the rampant honking of vehicle horns, it is only one part of the solution. Noise pollution in Dhaka stems from multiple sources, including construction work involving brick crushers, and mixing machines, heavy factory machinery, and widespread use of loudspeakers. Random use of loudspeakers is made by all categories of people including roadside vendors, canvassers, announcers and political agitators, more often without permission. And there is no control as to the decibel level of the loudspeaker and the user seems to think that thunderous sound can catch the attention of the intended listener when argument and softer means of persuasion cannot.
The unrestricted noise pollution is beginning to exact its toll. It has been established by experts that the acoustic atrocities in the environment are predisposing factors in blood pressure, heart disease and hearing problems that may lead to deafness. Cardiovascular and nerve related problems are reportedly becoming endemic among city-dwellers. Many are threatened with deafness and students are losing their power of concentration.
Sound pollution is not an inevitable consequence of urban life and those who thoughtlessly produce the sound can easily avoid doing so. All they need is to exercise self-control, and consideration for others. Awareness and level of civic responsibility must be raised but vigilance and law enforcement must also be intensified to make the 'Silent Zone' initiative a success.
Let's give silent applause for those behind the much-needed initiative!
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