Hyderabad: Data obtained from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has shown that noise pollution in sensitives areas of the city is going beyond permitted decibel levels, TOI said in its report. The noise monitoring systems in Hyderabad are located at commercial zones of Abids and Punjagutta, Jeedimetla industrial zone, the silence zone at Zoo Park, Gachibowli and Jubilee Hills’ residential zone.
A resident of SR Nagar, Raghu Prasad says that he can’t sleep due to honking caused by heavy traffic. “The bus drivers do it on purpose. I can’t sleep after 4 am on some days. There’s no reason for them to honk at that time of the day since there’s hardly any traffic in the area,” he says. Adding that loudspeakers in the area also are a reason for high sounds.
The noise pollution in major cities including Hyderabad is mostly due to industries, transport vehicles, construction activities, generator sets and firecrackers. A senior environmentalist WG Prasanna Kumar says as a society we consider noise as festivity and don’t think there is an issue with high sounds.
“Only if we define it as noise and consider it as a problem then it becomes a problem. We can enforce silent zone restrictions in an area only if the area is zoned in the first place,” says Kumar.