Silence is golden

Bangalore is one among the seven noisiest cities in India and steps are being taken to reduce noise levels by installing monitoring units at five locations in the cityu00a0In a bid to encourage Bangaloreans to make less noise, the state pollution control board has installed five machines that will record decibel levels 24/7. On day one of the machine becoming operational it revealed that noise levels in the city were beyond permissible limits. Shhh: The seven cities that have received noise pollution equipment are Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Lucknow. Pic/Satish BadigerBangalore is one among the seven nosiest cities in the country identified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for installation of such machines. The machines manufactured by Geonica, Spain costs about Rs 6 lakh each. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) will monitor noise pollution levels at five locations across the city where these machines have been installed.Above danger levelsKSPCB chairman, A S Sadashivaiah said, We have received five noise pollution monitoring units from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and have installed them at various parts of the city. One each has been installed at BTM Layout (Forest department nursery), Marathalli (BWSSB office premises), Peenya (ACE limited premises), Sanegoranahalli (KSPCB Regional office) and KSPCB (Church Street). All machines have are now functional and noise pollution levels will be displayed on LED boards.There has been a 5 to 7 per cent increase in noise pollution levels in the city, which is above national standard level. This equipment will help us to learn, at which point of time noise levels peak and how can we control the causes, said Sadashivaiah.Keeping a checkKSPCB maintains a check on noise pollution levels at industries and advises on how to tackle the issue. Also, KSPCB initially used to carry noise pollution handset instruments to particular areas to record pollution levels. Now, with the help of permanently installed equipment, they will be able to collect data round the clock and work on steps to resolve noise pollution issues.During Diwali ambient noise levels measured in Bangalore was highest at AECS Layout, which measured 85 decibel. The standard permissible level is 55 and before Diwali it was 74 decibels at this place.A senior KSPCB official said that the data from the new machines will be collected and used to pinpoint the exact sources of pollution. After collecting three months data, an exact reading will be available and the source of noise pollution in the area will be ascertained. Readings Church Street BTM Layout Sanegoranahalli Marathalli Standard limit 65 55 55 65 Recorded 70 decibel 69 decibel 63 decibel 66.4 decibel