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Noise pollution falls on deaf ears

No enforcement of rules, not a single case filed in 4 years

TawfiqueAu
As the rules to reduce the level of noise pollution have never been implemented, the sound pollution continues to create public nuisance and pose serious health hazards to urban popu lation.
Due to the growing levels of noise pollution the government in 2006 formulated the Noise Pollution Control Rules under the Environment Conservation Act of 1995 to reduce pollution created by motor vehicles, industries and amplifiers.
People especially in Dhaka are suffering from noise pollution beyond permitted level but Department of Environment (DoE) has not yet taken any legal action against offenders making a mockery of those rules.
DoE Deputy Director Sukumar Biswas said. "We have not yet filed any regular case with the environment court under the noise pollution control rules."
DoE Dhaka Division Director Jamshed Ahmed said it needs a lot of procedural work to file a regular case with the environment court.
"We neither have adequate manpower nor logistics for the job," he said, “But we will go for filing regular cases once we have required
manpower."
Prof Sirajul Haq, chairman of cardiology department and dean of Faculty of Medicine at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), said noise pollution and overcrowding enhance the chance of hyperten -sion, heart attack and stroke.
“Normally, noise pollution aggravates most of the ailments related with blood pressure and affects people s behavioural pattern," he said.
A recent technical report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed a correlation between noise pollution and high prevalence of hypertension among dwellers around the Heathrow Airport in London, said Haq, who is a WHO adviser.
Prof Abdur Railed Khan, director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, said babies are affected even in the mothers' womb if a pregnant woman is irritated with high noise pollution beyond tolerable l?vel.
“It affects normal physical and mental growth of a child and decreases intelligence level,” he said, adding: "Children may suffer from hearing impairment. Noise pollution also causes headache and loss of appetite to the adults."
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Interestingly, the DoE officials during a mobile court drive against honkers and blacksmoke emitters on September 7 appeared oblivious of the noise control rules.
Dr Shahdeen Malik, a Supreme Court lawyer, said it is not surprising as there is no mechanism to make all personnel of an organisation aware of relevant rules and laws.
■‘Moreover, the DoE has no lawofficer," said Malik.
The mobile court penalised the honkers for using horns W beyond permissible sound limit and banned hydraulic horns with a fine of just Tk 100 under the Motor Vehicles Ordinance.
The Noise Pollution Control Rules, however, provide for a month s imprisonment or a fine of Tk 5000 or both for the first-time offence and six months' imprisonment or fine of Tk 10,000 or both for the second time.
The rules say the authorities concerned will decide on the permissible limit of noise on the basis of which category the area belongs to -- silent, residential, commercial, mixed or industrial zone.
Hospitals, educational institutions and offices constitute the silent zone. The permissible noise level within 100
metres radius of such a zone is 50 decibel during daytime and 40 during night
As per the rules daytime starts at 6:00am and ends up at 9:00pm while the rest of the time is nighttime.
Permissible sound limit at residential areas during daytime is 55 decibel and 45 during night. Daytime limit in a mixed area, a combination of residential, commercial and industrial areas, is 60 decibel at daytime and 50 at nighttime.
For commercial areas noise limit at daytime is 70 and 60 decibel during night while in an industrial area it is 75 at daytime and 70 at nighttime.
Operation of brickcrushing machines within a 500-metre radius of a residential area is clearly prohibited. Use of concrete mixture machine and other construction tools is also banned from 7:00pm to 7:00a.
The permissible sound level for a motor vehicle is 85 to 100 decibel
Whoever intends to exceed the noise limit in an area except for silent zone has to obtain prior permission from the DoE or delegated authorities.
The DoE officials said its Dhaka division that is comprised of 17 districts has only three inspectors.