Bhubaneswar, Feb. 23 ( Odisha.in ) Despite repeated appeals by the residents of Mahatma Gandhi Marg, located at the centre of the city, for putting an end to the hazardous noise pollution, so far Neither Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, nor the State Government has taken any action in this regard.
The residents of this area who include a number of senior I.A.S., I.P.S., I.F.S. officers, journalists, students have repeatedly appealed to the State administration highlighting the problems they are facing due to acute noise pollution.
On almost all the days during the Assembly session as well as on otheroccasions also, this area becomes over crowded with demonstrators, who use megaphonesand high sounding public address system from 10 a.m. till 10 P.M. making the lives of the residents miserable.
The noise pollution is crossing the prescribed limit in this area due to frequent demonstrations, dharanas etc. where the demonstrators use high sounding public address system. I am sure the following paragraphs can throw some light on sound/noise pollution.
Noise pollution (also termed as sound pollution) is a major health hazard. In fact, due to noise pollution millions of people are exposed to a number of health risks – from deafness to heart attack.
On city streets noise pollution can be caused by hydraulic horns of vehicles, microphones and cassette players. The hydraulic horns used by buses, trucks and scooters in the crowded city streets are dangerous for human being.
This is also how noise pollution in is affecting the hearing power of thousands of children everyday. The horns especially cause serious damage to children.
Experts say, if a child below three years of age hears a horn emitting 100 dB of noise from a close range, he or she might lose his or her hearing power.
A child’s health may also be adversely affected by loud sounds from the radio, television, cassette players and microphones, the sound of mills and factories and loud noise.
The unit of sound frequency is hertz. Human beings usually hear 15 to 20 kilohertz (KHz) frequency sound. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), generally 60 dB sound can make a man deaf temporarily and 100 dB sound can cause complete deafness.
But the noise in this area has been estimated at 60 to 100 dB, with the sound of vehicles being 95 dB, loud speakers 90 to 100 dB,scooter or motorbike 87 to 92 dB and trucks and buses 92 to 94 dB.
But the desired sound measure is 25 dB in the bedroom, 40 dB in the dining or drawing room, 35-40 dB in the office, 30-40 dB in the class room, 35-40 dB in the library, 20-35 dB in hospital, 40-60 dB in a restaurant and 45 dB in the city at night.
When the sound exceeds this limit, there is noise pollution. Noise pollution beyond the limit destroys hearing and might even lead to the losing of one’s mental balance. Noise pollution also causes peevish temperament, affects lungs, hampers the intellect of the children and makes them apathetic towards their studies.
According to a survey of the Department of Environment (DOE), noise causes mental and physical illness among the people. It causes high blood pressure, tachycardia, headache, indigestion, peptic ulcer, and also affects sound sleep.
Anyone may become deaf for the time being if 100 dB or more noisepollution occurs for half an hour or more in any place. Working in an atmosphere of loud noise for a long period can cause complete deafness to any person. Any sort of noise pollution seriously affects expecting mothers.
Because of high level of sound/noise pollution in this area, the students of all age group are unable to read peacefully despite all sincere efforts to do so. It is also posing tremendous health hazard for them. A number of students from Class-I to Medical and Engineering students are staying in this area with their parents, who are mentally tortured due to such noise pollution.
The elderly and sick people living in this area have come under high risk because of such sound/noise pollution as they are unable to sleep peacefully
or take rest calmly between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. because of such noise pollution.Since this road is barricaded and blocked for four days during the rehearsal
for the Republic Day and Independence Day, it becomes impossible to transport emergency patients from this area to any hospital in the city, which has posed threat to the lives of the residents.
It is strange that the neither the State Pollution Control Board nor the Commissioner of Police have so far taken any action to put an end to such inhuman atrocities on the people living in this area.Though the State Government had sworn an affidavit in Orissa High Court about an year ago to shift the demonstration and other activities responsible for creating tremendous disturbances in the area so far they are sleeping over it.
Talking to Odisha.in some students and parents said that they would be compelled to go for dharana in front of Chief Minister’s residence if their grievances are not looked into at the earliest.
Odisha.in