My noisy city makes me sick

KAMAL BARUAH

Davud is a YouTuber based in Czech Republic, who can’t help wondering how vehicles beeping pap-pap, while visiting our Doul Govinda Mandir on the foothills of Chandra Bharati hill at Rajaduar, North Guwahati. Surely he had noticed that most the vehicles sped by honking its horn. There were no pedestrians or even other vehicles on the road and he saw all honking vehicles passed by.

 Commuters often distracted by a commotion across the bustling street of India. The other day while I was returning home, there were blaring sound of sirens along with so many VIP Cars in the midst of a rainstorm. All those crazy traffic circled around and honked. Traffic blocked in key roads as police failed to streamline the flow of traffic. And there was an ambulance kept blowing siren for a passage. This is our city ear-splitting crack of thunder all day and all night. The sound of horns is causing great annoyance in our day to day life. There is a need now to put an effort to suppress noise.

Our ears are more sensitive to loud sounds. The effects of such noise can damage hearing leading to hearing loss. A sound’s loudness is measured in decibels (dB). Sounds anything above 85 dB are harmful, where heavy traffic and noisy restaurant make noise levels between 80-89 dB. Besides sports crowd, rock concert, and loud symphony, where it goes 120-129 dB, there is gun shot and siren at 100 feet that make 140 Db, which is extremely dangerous to us.

People regularly exposed to harmful noise because of their jobs such as construction / factory workers, fire fighters, drivers and traffic police. Military personnel often face while firing arms. They suffer from Tinnitus symptoms. Even musicians face heavy crunch sound at musical concert. Such urban commotions by non-bothering individuals make not only our city noise but create systemic changes to our environment too.

The bustle of big city makes people sick. We forget that noise pollution is still pollution. Ironically hearing damage is irreparable. The days of birdsong, intelligible human speech, the gentle rustling of leaves, the crispy highs of brushes on jazz cymbals are over. People living in cities are regularly exposed noise. An hour-long commute at such sound levels could cause significant hearing loss over time. Even noise level of 60 decibels could raise blood pressure, heart rate and cause stress, loss of concentration and sleep. According to WHO, human pain threshold is at 120 decibels.

However the permissible limits of noise at residential areas are 55 dB and 45 dB during daytime and night respectively. So does with 75-70 dB and 65-55 dB for industrial and commercial areas respectively. Creating noise is considered to be a public nuisance under Section 290 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Further, if there is noise after 10 pm, one may contact the local police helpline.

Now loud horns (pressure horns) are to be a thing of past in India. The government is taking a significant step to reduce noise pollution on its roads by enforcing a 50-decibel limit for vehicle horns. Yet unnecessary honking is indeed a common issue on Indian roads. Many motorists installed modified silencers on their sports bikes and violated the rules. It contributes significantly to noise pollution and can be quite annoying for everyone around. Aizawl has set an example on how to deal with this crisis. Nobody honks, or jumps their lane in Aizawl. So be with Gangtok city. Horn is not OK please: Honking without reason is illegal, so we might as well stop it.

I have to wonder whether sirens in many instances are worth. Sirens often confuse people and frequently it's hard to tell what direction the sound is coming from and caused a driver in stress and disorientation, doubtless leading to more accidents. However, it is essential to differentiate between the distinct sounds of a police siren and an ambulance siren. Understanding their differences can help pedestrians and motorists respond appropriately, ensuring the smooth flow of traffic and timely assistance in emergency situations.

Police sirens typically produce a combination of wailing and alternating high-low sounds. Ambulance sirens generally produce a continuous, high-pitched wailing sound. So, the next time you hear a siren, you’ll have the ability to differentiate between the type of emergency vehicle in action, facilitating a prompt and responsible reaction from everyone involved. That raised a key question. While urban noise may seem inevitable and unavoidable and city dwellers continued to suffer from their noisy city.

(Email: kamal.baruah@yahoo.com)