‘Silence zones help create quieter city’ Mumbai:
More than a year after the Bombay high court ordered the
creation of silence zones across Mumbai, the BMC claimed in a
report that the noise levels in these 1,000-odd regions and the
rest of the city have come down considerably. The environment status report (ESR) claimed that a marked drop had been observed in the city’s noise levels because of “effective implementation of the silence zone norms’’, papering over the fact that the figures were still significantly higher than the standards prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). For the report, the civic body took readings at seven “fixed stations” located in Worli, Khar, Andheri, Bhandup, Borivli, Maravli and Shivaji Park, and sent a mobile van across the city to measure sound readings during the day. The BMC said during the study period it noticed the average noise levels in silence zones had dropped by 4 decibels (dB). While last year the maximum and minimum noise levels during the day stood at of 91 dB and 48 dB respectively, the numbers this year were 73 dB and 55 dB. The figures, however, still exceeded the 50 dB standard set down by the CPCB. The report also claimed that noise pollution levels had dropped in other parts of the city like residential, industrial, commercial areas. It argued that the difference in sound levels occurred due to the increased concretisation of roads and the use of paver blocks, which has made vehicular movement smoother. Civic officials on Friday lauded themselves for the reduction of noise, but refrained from concluding anything since the report is “subjective’’. “We are not trying to draw any conclusions. The levels are recorded only at seven stations, and that too only during the day,’’ said a senior civic official. Anti-noise pollution activists were sceptical about the findings. They commended the government for its work in silence zones, but rubbished the claims of an overall decrease in noise levels. “The number of loudspeakers have reduced because of which we can see a decrease; however, the traffic and honking remains the same,’’ said Sumaira Abdulali, founder of NGO Awaaz. |