Nagpur: Only one location in the city was found to have noise levels within the prescribed permissible limit, reveals a scientific study carried out for the city’s latest environmental status report (ESR).
Prepared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri), the report analyses the level of noise pollution in the city. To assess this, the institute carried out an innovative approach by using bicycles with mounted sound meters to monitor decibels levels in the city. According to scientists, the purpose of monitoring by this method was to identify noise pollution at large number of locations in the city for better representation and monitoring in congested areas.
As per the norms of Union environment ministry, the permissible noise limit in industrial areas is 75dB during day and 70dB at night. In commercial areas, it is 65 and 55 dB while for residential areas it is 55 and 45 dB, respectively.
Out of 700 sampling sites, 374 sites had noise levels greater than 80 dB, while 325 sampling sites had a noise level between 60-80 dB. “Only one sampling position was found where the noise level was below 60 dB. This shows that majority of the sampling sites are affected by high noise levels,” the study stated.
These 700 sampling locations comprised of different road categories like national and state highways, ring road, major road, minor road, railway crossing and different land-use categories including residential, commercial and industrial. At each location, the cycle was stopped and noise levels were recorded for five minutes with an interval of one second during peak hours of traffic – mainly from 9 to 11 am and 6-8.30 pm. At every location, 300 readings were recorded.
Stating that the situation is alarming in the city, senior principal scientist Ritesh Vijay said, “Just one location has noise levels below 60dB, majority of them have levels crossing 100 dB. The main cause behind this is the exponential growth in the number of vehicles in the city between 2005-2020.”
According to him, mitigation measures need to be taken. “Honking should be speed-based. People honk with the same intensity even when the vehicle is not in motion,” he added.
Earlier, a study conducted by Neeri had revealed that honking contributes additional 2 to 5 decibels in the cumulative vehicular noise pollution in the city. During the study, maximum honking was observed on highways.
IN A NUTSHELL
* Bicycles mounted with sound meters used for study
* Helped cover many parts of city
* 700 sites scanned
* Noise levels at 374 sites greater than 80 dB, at 325 between 60-80 dB
* Only 1 site below 60
* CONCLUSION: Majority of sampling sites affected by high noise levels
* SOLUTION: Honking should be speed based