Decibel levels peak at Pitampura, Janakpuri

NEW DELHI: The capital recorded a noisier Diwali this year compared with last year, but it was quieter than in 2016, according to data released by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Thursday. The decibel range recorded at five noise monitoring locations this year was between 64.4 dB (A) and 74.0 dB (A). In contrast, the noise last year was between 61.4 dB (A) and 68.2 dB (A) due mainly to the Supreme Court banning the sale of all firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. Data released by CPCB, meanwhile, showed

Pitampura

and

Janakpuri

as the loudest among the six areas monitored on Diwali night.


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CPCB’s analysis showed three places showed an increase in the noise pollution this Diwali, including Pitampura (increase from 69 dB last year to 75 dB this year), Kamla Nagar (increase from 69 dB to 74 dB) and Janakpuri (spike from 67 dB to 75 dB).

The three stations under CPCB that showed a drop include Lajpat Nagar (a fall from 74 dB last year to 69 dB this year), Mayur Vihar Phase-II (from 75 dB to 74 dB) and Okhla, which recorded the biggest improvement in terms of noise, falling from 83 dB to 68 dB.

The standard of acceptable noise for residential areas during day time is 55 dB (A) and 45 dB (A) at night. Industrial locations like Okhla have a day-time limit of 75 dB (A), while noise should not exceed 70 dB (A) at night.

“The overall trend showed a slight increase in decibel levels from the five locations monitored when compared with the levels in 2017,” a DPCC official said. “However, 2016 was the noisiest in terms of decibel levels as there was no ban of any sort on the use of firecrackers.”

CPCB’s pre-Diwali noise monitoring found a decrease in all the locations in Delhi, save for Mayur Vihar, which logged a reading of 68 dB (A) this year when it was 62 dB (A) pre-Diwali, last year. CPCB’s report further said that real-time noise monitoring carried out both on the days before Diwali and on Diwali day this year showed an increasing trend.

“Only at Anand Vihar and Punjabi Bagh had both the daytime and night-time noise levels declined,” the report said. “DCE, Dilshad Garden, ITO, Mandir Marg, Dwarka and R K Puram recorded an increase in both day and night-time noise observed on 1st November 2018 as compared with the selected preDiwali day in 2017,” the report said.

Real-time monitoring at night on Diwali day showed ITO to be the noisiest with a reading of 71 dB (A), while Punjabi Bagh was the quietest with a reading of 52 dB (A).