To,
Sri. Sharat B, IAS
The Hon’ble Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate
DC office, Mysuru District, Mysuru
Dear Sir,
The “road” is one of the few places, where we are unwillingly putting our lives and the lives of our family members in the hands of mostly untrained, unqualified and irresponsible people. We are all aware of the issues caused by unsafe and inadequately monitored driving practises, but must also take into account the harm to those around us (both on-road and people living nearby busy streets) by way of environmental pollution and increasingly important — noise pollution.
It is also interesting to note that low-income countries have the highest annual road fatalities (24.1 per 100,000) and India has the highest numbers of road deaths in the world followed by China and USA. While the government is taking several initiatives to improve road safety, I take this opportunity to present certain measures to lessen the noise pollution (the Central Pollution Control Board mandates that noise level should not exceed 55dB during daytime and 45dB during night time in residential areas and 50dB and 40dB respectively in Silent Zones, such as those near hospitals ) that can be implemented in Mysore city to begin with —
- Immediate Measures
- Sign boards informing the rider that they are passing a Silent Zone to be implemented around 5 largest hospitals (phase-1) where speed limit should be reduced to less than 20km/hour and the use of horn completely banned. This will create awareness amongst people of the concept of noise pollution and that it is “harmful” and hence banned ( I can request CII-YI Yuva students to do an educational skit near the hospitals)
- Creative sign boards on the harmful effects of noise pollution should be placed at 10 busiest traffic signals (attached is a logo that I have developed and can be used)
- Top 10 driving schools in Mysore must be instructed to include syllabus on noise pollution
- Entrance and exit of key residential lanes should be marked and riders must be informed that they are now entering a residential zone and must keep the noise pollution to a minimum ( residents should be allowed to collectively apply for their lanes to be marked as a low noise-pollution zone and should also self-fund the required barriers and signage)
- Strict action against riders using loud music systems and 2-wheelers driving without a silencer ( online complaint form to be launched – I have been registering complaints at http://mysorecitypolice.gov.in/TrafficViolation.aspx)
- Strict action against any rider using horns between 11:30PM-6:30AM ( should be published in leading newspapers and citizens encouraged to immediately report such violations )
- Allow citizens to adopt traffic signals. The citizen will be responsible for donating camera, sound meter and any other item through mutual discussion with the traffic police and a website with the list of signals/donors/key metrics should be launched
- Opening of a Twitter or Instagram (or both) account where users can tweet/post license plat numbers and/or pictures of offenders (speed, sound, lane). If the picture of the same license plate is posted more than X number of times/month, action to be taken against the offender
- Short-term Measures
- Marked lanes for cycles and 2-wheelers (this is the cohort that uses unnecessary horn the most, followed by yellow-number plated 4-wheelers and auto rickshaws)
- Directive to all cab aggregators operating in Mysore to have conduct training session for their partners on road safety with a specific focus on sound pollution
- Training and empowering the traffic police to recognize, identify and take action against noise pollution
- Increase green cover around the city to absorb sound (with a focus around silent zones and residential areas)
- I have observed that the maximum use of horn is by 2-wheelers at each and every traffic junction. Stop and No Horn signs to be placed and riders educated that there is no collective good from each and every vehicle honking at all crossroads (I can request CII-YI Yuva students to do an educational skit near Top 10 traffic junctions)
- Long-term ( https://www.change.org/hornnotokay01) [I am working with other associations to contact SIAM and ARAI]
- Interact with SIAM/ARAI to —
- Reduce the maximum sound output of horns to 75 dB
- Restrict the flow of sound waves to a small area around the vehicle
- Ensure the sound of a horn plays equally loud inside the vehicle, so that it discourages unnecessary use
- Enable auto-disable of the horn for 30 seconds, with 5 consecutive horn usage in less than 10 seconds (2-button press mechanism if horn is required during the 30 second period for a real emergency)
Mysore has been consistently voted as one of the cleanest city in India and now we should all strive for making it the safest/noise-free city in India.
Your’s Sincerely,
Rajat Agarwal
Mysore – 570023