Noise pollution crosses all tolerable levels in port city

The purpose of such a noisy practice is crudely simple, it is as if the drivers are announcing, "Here we are oh Chittagonians wake up and board our bus before we leave..."

As the day gets older, other noisy giants of the roads join the fiasco, constantly blowing their powerful hydraulic horns. The noise slowly intensifies to cross all decibel levels tolerable to humans living in the vicinity of the Bahodderhat bus stand and the famous CDA Avenue that criss-crosses the port city.

Patients in the clinics and hospitals, students in their schools and colleges, residents in the posh residential area of Chandgaon and thousands others, regularly exposed to the noise, have nowhere to turn to for a respite. Some have lost the ability to hear the noise any more and some are frustrated because there is nobody to look into the matter.

Throughout the port city, noise pollution has marked phenomenal rise over the last two years, according to Shabbir Hussain Chowdhury, a businessman from Chandgaon residential area. This is mainly due to the overwhelming presence of buses, trucks and other vehicles, indiscriminately using the forbidden hydraulic horns as well as other powerful honks on city roads.

Near the Bahodderhat bus station, at least two police sergeants and half a dozen traffic constables man an intersection, totally oblivious to the deafening noise produced by buses and trucks nearby.

When recently, one of these correspondents asked an on-duty sergeant about what the law says on use of hydraulic horns, he replied, "We are supposed to fine the driver around Tk 100 and immediately confiscate the illegal horn from the vehicle."

When pointed out about the defiance of the buses nearby, he replied, "What is the big deal? They are only trying to pick up passengers by blowing the horn. It does not bother me. It is a matter of getting used to it."

The increasing noise pollution in the fast growing metropolis in fact does not bother anyone in the top policy making positions either. The Department of Environment (DoE), having set a standard for decibel level in the country, now awaits a ministerial nod to propose the enactment of a law.

Technical Director of DoE, Mohammad Reazuddin Ahmed told The Daily Star from Dhaka that a year ago his office sent a standard on decibel level at different zones to the Ministry of Environment and Forest. The ministry in turn sent the draft to the law ministry for proper vetting before enacting a law. Several months later, the law ministry sent the draft back to the DoE for some amendments.

"We are now waiting for the response of the law ministry," he said.

Another reason for increasing noise pollution in the city is the presence of about 3.5 lakh rickshaws, most of which are unauthorised. Bus, truck and private car drivers said they were forced to use horns frequently to avoid accidents with these non-mechanised vehicles on the roads.

On the other hand, the construction sector of the city is also a major contributor to noise pollution. In various residential and commercial areas, thousands of structures of all sizes are now being built. At most construction sites, workers use crudely assembled mechanised brick-breakers, which make huge noise during operation. Use of loud speakers is also rampant, adding to the deteriorating noise problem.

"Students of the schools and colleges in the residential areas are most sufferers as the brick breakers are operated in the neighbourhood during school hours," said Roxana Habib, a school teacher from Chandgaon, where dozens of schools are operating.

Dr Khurshid Jamil Chowdhury, Civil Surgeon of Chittagong, told The Daily Star that noise pollution has been a serious health problem in Chittagong, and needs to be addressed jointly by the health, home and environment ministries immediately.

"Residents near Zakir Hossain Road in Khulshi are regularly complaining of sleeplessness due to increasing noise pollution there and I am sure symptoms of various ailments are surely showing among them," the Civil Surgeon said.

"We are today clamping down on food adulteration but we should also know that noise pollution is equally harmful to human beings, particularly to growing children, the difference is we can see or smell bad food, we cannot see or smell noise, but both are deadly," Chowdhury explained.

According to physicians, constant exposure to urban noise pollution could lead to various illnesses. Long exposure could undoubtedly cause loss of hearing. Blood pressure rises with noise and makes one vulnerable to heart attack. The human body undergoes various, known and unknown, turbulence when exposed to noise. Medical scientists also observe changes in human behavioural patterns due to noise pollution.