Noise pollution is the bane of Bangalore: KSPCB chief

Awareness programme held to mark International Noise Awareness Day

“Waiting, not honking, will make traffic move,” said one of the posters displayed by a volunteer during the No Honking campaign at Bashyam Circle here on Thursday.

The campaign was held as part of an awareness programme to mark International Noise Awareness Day, organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Samvaad Institute of Speech and Hearing (SISH), Hebbal, and the Police Department.

People were told about the dangers of long-term exposure to noise.

Vaman Acharya, Chairman, KSPCB, said that noise pollution was the bane of Bangalore. “We have been conducting the No Honking Mondays campaign for the last six months and have seen a significant decrease of nearly 4.5 per cent on those days,” he said.

He said that abroad people honked at a vehicle to express displeasure about the person’s driving. “But in India, we not only honk out of anger, we just honk randomly. We hope that small efforts such as this one will help change our driving practices,” Mr. Acharya said.

Radhika Poovayya, director, SISH, said: “We plan on sustaining this campaign. We will conduct No Honking Mondays with students of the institute. We will also approach schools and create awareness about ‘no honking’.”

As many as 15 students from Samvaad institute took part in the campaign. Ria Grace, a first year student, said: “As we are students of speech and hearing and study how to treat those with hearing impairment, we thought it would a better option to nip the problem in the bud.”