Mumbai: 'First silence zone list skips 40 critical spots'

MUMBAI: Anti-noise activists have written to the environment department and the BMC pointing out 40 critical spots in the city left out of the first set of silence zones.
The BMC recently identified 110 silence zones for notification, chosen out of an older list of more than 1,500 silence zones. In a letter to the environment department and the BMC, Awaaz Foundation convener Sumaira Abdulali said: “The earlier list was identified by ward offices across Mumbai in 2009 and subsequently added on to in later years, after due process including the process of consultation from citizens and ALMs and ground level identification. All of these meet the criteria and it is difficult to understand why any of them were left out in the latest list. This is especially baffling since the earlier lists are available as an easy guide and leaving out any institution would require a specific decision to that effect.”

Awaaz drafted a list of the 40 spots, mainly consisting of hospitals and educational institutes. Among these are KC College, Churchgate; Siddharth College, Fort; HR College, Churchgate; GD Somani School, Cuffe Parade; Arya Vidya Mandir, Bandra; and St Andrews College, Bandra.