Silence zones nowhere near being silent, allege activists

PUNE: Half-hearted efforts by authorities towards controlling and mapping of noise levels in the city, especially in the silence zones, have irked activists.
Though the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has identified as many as 1,195 silence zones across the city , including educational institutes, hospitals and schools, nothing much has been done to regulate the decibel limits in these areas, the activists alleged.
In a letter to the commissioner of police, activist Taramati Pathak said, “In Pune, no one is following any norms related to the silence zones. At Shaniwarwada, various programmes are being organised regularly using sound systems and loudspeakers.“
Pathak also mentioned similar issues in areas such as Swargate, Sarasbaug and Kamla Nehru Park, among others. The latter is located within 100m of Dr Sardesai Hospital and Joshi Hospital, she stated in the letter. Asked about PMC's role in the monitoring of the noise levels, environment officer of PMC Mangesh Dighe said, “The PMC has done its part of identifying the silence zones. We have put sign boards indicating the same outside such establishments.The next step in noise regulation is catching hold of the violators and fining them.This is to be handled by the city police,“ he told TOI.
The demarcation of the silence zones and creating a noise map of major cities in the state was ordered by the Bombay high court while hearing a public-interest litigation (PIL) on noise pollution.
When contacted, joint commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam said, “We have formed noise pollution monitoring committees at the level of police stations. These panels are supervised by respective DCPs. We have also issued notices to groups and mandals we received complaints against.“
Meanwhile, anti-noise pollution committee founder and physician Yeshwant Oke said that a majority of these silence zones are located at or near main roads in the city .
“Hence, traffic noise and honking is a major concern.In addition, the noise from celebrations, processions and loudspeakers also affects these zones. Currently , not much has been done to regulate this,“ he said.