The other day on Raksha bandhan I
was travelling to town by road. One thing which immediately caught my attention
was the huge banners put up by Times of India related to No honking Drive
(15th-22 Aug 2016).
What an excellent initiative
taken up by TOI to create awareness amongst the people on how hazardous
unnecessary honking is. In metro cities like Mumbai especially where the city
never sleeps it is extremely important to understand that unnecessary honking
should be completely avoided. It not only damages hearing it also leads to
anxiety, stress, road rage and hypertension. It actually breaks the silence.
The journey from suburb to town which normally takes an hour took us 3 hours
with incessant honking which further added to our plight. As we moved inch by
inch towards our destination trying to trace the source of the traffic jam but
could not find any on our way. Just 4-5 cars which had broken down in the
middle of the traffic due to excess heating.
Abroad the scene is totally
different there honking is treated as rude. If you honk people stare you with a
look which says” My driving is perfect man don’t honk”. There are certain
countries which take action against honking, it’s high time that we too follow
them and make laws around no honking to deter honking.
Noise pollution is also one of
the serious hazard for the environment it disturbs the plant and animal life.
As per Awaaz foundation the normal decibel levels should be 55 DB, however they
shoot up to 110 DB-140 DB during festivals. By creating awareness through
schools and colleges we can sensitise the kids on noise pollution.. this in
fact has proved to be an effective tool. The results are showing up, last
couple of years there has been reduction in the sale of fire crackers
especially sutali bombs which merely burst & penetrate your ears leave you
temporarily shaken, they damage the ear organ. Not to forget the air pollution
created by the fumes arising out of these fire crackers. Last year my cousin
took his kids out for fire cracker shopping when the kids themselves objected
to buy these noise polluting fire cracker as they were taught at the school
about the hazards of noise pollution.
Some people actually move out of
their place and travel off to some far off place during Diwali to avoid the air
and noise pollution. During festivals and wedding people play loud music
thereby disturbing all around, such occasion are happy and joyful events in
ones’s life and shouldn’t be a reason for inconvenience to others. People will
have to realise that they have to think about others and environment and
maintain civic sense. I recollect this particular instance when fire caught our
building on Diwali night due to bursting of fire cracker, we were fortunate
enough that we were successful in dousing the flames on time!
Let us all pledge that we will
not attribute to noise or air pollution and spread awareness so as to make the
earth a better place to live in.
Please share and comment!
Good read.
ReplyDeleteIndeed a important one to include in the curriculum
ReplyDeleteIndeed a important one to include in the curriculum
ReplyDeleteNoise pollution due to Vehicles, indeed is a bigger issue comparing to the other modes of noise pollutants. Honkers are not alone responsible. Real problem lies with the General Attitude towards Road Etiquette and condition of our Pothole enabled roads. There are some places where it seems, potholes are not on the roads, but roads are in between potholes. Other thing, Nobody follows the rule. The Riders and the Walkers no one follows the rule. Both parties are so much engrossed in their respective egos, riders think the roads are built for them to drive and walkers think roads are meant to walk.
ReplyDeletePrime issue lies in right understanding of the people and Political will of our beloved politicians to improve the very basic of Mumbai infrastructure that is the ROADS.
It's nice that companies are taking up initiatives that impact everyday lives of citizens. The issue you've raised needs to be addressed at multiple levels. Our driving licence issuing authorities are a joke. We'll need to create pedestrian infrastructure and enforce pedestrian rules. Drivers need to be educated too. And we'll infrastructure that automatically moniters vehicles that do not follow traffic rules. It's going to be a slow and long process. :) Well written though and great points raised.
ReplyDeleteIt's a well brought up topic, nicely summed up! Honking has become an everyday nuisance and no matter how much we don't like it, all of us have to bear it. Patience is a virtue! However, no one's interested in practicing it since all are busy honking. There's no respect for fellow drivers, pedestrians. In peak hours, it’s difficult for the driver to understand from which direction the sound of horn is coming since almost everyone on the road honks. Hope, the situation changes soon!
ReplyDelete