Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1082 Sun. June 17, 2007  
   
Star City


Noise Pollution
DMP to go tougher on horn-happy motorists


Deafening noise of vehicular horns continues to pester the city dwellers despite a slight awareness among motorists following a clamp down on horn-happy motorists.

Since February DMP (Dhaka Metropolitan Police) has enforced an age-old law banning vehicular horns in many areas of the city. In densely populated residential areas like Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Uttara and Banani, which are dotted with private schools, universities and hospitals the joint forces, with the police and residents in the lead, convinced organisations to launch a campaign against use of horns. At places large banners have been enacted urging motorists to refrain from honking horns, which is the principal source of noise pollution in the city. The traffic department officials said that they would pursue the matter until noise from vehicular horns disappears from the city.

"We have fined thousands of motorists for honking and issued verbal warnings about heavier penalties for future offences, but old habits die hard," said a traffic sergeant at Farmgate intersection requesting not to be named.

"There should be a massive campaign against unnecessary use of horns which is already causing unknown physical harms to the public, particularly children," he added. The DMP decided to implement the motor vehicles ordinance of 1983 that forbids honking horns within 200 yards of places of worship, educational institutes, hospitals, courts and offices. Offenders are being fined Tk 200 for each violation under clause 139 of motor vehicles act.

Another traffic sergeant at Bangla Motor intersection said that the police high-ups should also talk to the driving schools, which are following age-old driving manuals and accordingly teaching learners to honk at every intersection.

"If you analyse the situation you will find that over 90 percent of the city's vehicles are driven by so-called professional chauffeurs and I can tell you from my experience that most of these drivers do not have any formal education," said the sergeant adding," only penalising this workforce would not help curtail indisuse of horn, we need to educate them about the bad effects of horns in our city life."

Joint Commissioner of DMP (Traffic) M Jashimuddin, presently coordinating to bring in some discipline to city roads, said that the drive against noise pollution would continue till every motorist realises it is against the law. He also said that the traffic department is currently posting 600 sergeants in the city.

"We need 175 more traffic sergeants immediately to address some of the pressing problems infesting our roads and vehicular circulation," Jashimuddin said. He emphasised the need for awareness programs and installation of more road signs and said that the fund-constraint traffic department is now signing up deals with some companies to install road signs with sponsors. With the help of sponsors the traffic department would also set up electronic message boards all over the city.

"We have already set up one such electronic board at Sheraton intersection, if it works, similar boards would be set up at major intersection urging people to abide by the traffic rules," Jashimuddin added.

Although traffic department is playing a vital role fighting noise pollution, the Department of Environment (DoE) has kept busy for years formulating new rules to fight noise pollution. Finally in September last year, DoE finalised a set of rules against polluters. And to everyone's surprise, it did not incorporate the biggest polluter -- vehicular horns -- into the new set of rules.The new rules were incorporated in Environment Conservation Act of 1995 and gazetted on September 3, 2006 by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Picture
DMP's traffic department has enacted similar road signs to warn motorists about the ban on honking. PHOTO: STAR