Lucknow: Noise level at night was often below CPCB limit

LUCKNW: The silence was deafening in Charbagh commercial area, particularly before the first Shramik Special trains trundled in, while in the rest of the city,

decibel levels

at night were low to the point of haunting.

During the 68-day lockdown period between March 25 and May 31, noise levels in the state capital dipped by 20-30% in various localities at night, compared to the same period last year, often veering below permissible limits set by

Central Pollution Control Board

(

CPCB

).

Day-time average noise levels also witnessed a sharp dip of 8-25% in different localities as compared to same period in 2019, but continued to be above prescribed limits. These facts were revealed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR) study based on data recorded at seven locations in the city.

CPCB fixed 55 decibel level for residential and 65 decibel for commercial areas during day. For the night, the corresponding figures were 45 and 55 decibels.

Charbagh which remains busy 24x7 due to constant clank of moving trains and vehicles witnessed average noise levels dipping between 21-29% during the day and night during the lockdown period compared to last year. In fact, at night, Charbagh recorded an average of 47.8 decibel, well below prescribed limit for commercial area and almost equal to a residential area. Similar was the case with Alambagh commercial area.

“Noise levels dropped significantly both during day and night in residential areas because of no vehicular movement and construction activity. However, levels could not drop below permissible limit during the day due to movement of essential services, use of electrical appliances like ACs at homes, generator sets in offices and other human activity,” said experts.