Sound pollution threat to public health

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Our Correspondent
TANGAIL, June 19: Sound pollution has become a big threat to public health in the town. Local residents have complained that the problem has intensified during the recent years with the high volume of loud speakers in cassette shops, blowing of horns by heavy vehicles in residential areas of the town from morning to late at night.
The Tangail town is divided into two parts. One is the old part which was the thana level town under Mymensingh district. Another is the new part built after it became the district headquarters. The old part of the town is the most densely populated area. Dhaka-bound buses from Nagarpur, Elashin, Kederpur and Tangail-bound buses and trucks from Delduar and Torabganj cross through the town and create a sound havoc. All the Dhaka and Tangail-bound bus and truck drivers are also defying the government ban on the use of hydraulic horns which cause serious hazards to hearing of the people. People have complained that the sound pollution in some areas in the district has already crossed the tolerable limit and has taken a toll on inhabitants.
Doctors said the hydraulic horn and loud speakers cause high blood pressure and seriously hamper children's growth.