DOT Desk: Dhaka, the bustling capital city, will observe one minute of silence yesterday (15 October) as part of the government’s anti-noise pollution campaign, reports TBS.
The programme will be held from 10:00am to 10:01am to raise awareness on freeing people from the harmful effects of noise pollution, said Dr Farhina Ahmed, secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in a press conference at the Secretariat this afternoon yesterday.
Underlining noise pollution as a serious threat to public health, Dr Farhina Ahmed said, “Due to excessive noise pollution, people suffer from various problems – including hearing loss, partial or complete deafness, heart disease, high blood pressure, insomnia, various mental problems, including loss of mental connection, premature abortion of pregnant mothers, deafness of infants and children with special needs.
“As a result of noise pollution, there is a negative impact on the country’s human resources and the overall growth,” she added.
As a part of raising public awareness activities to control noise pollution, human chains will be organised under the slogan “Stop noise pollution, observe silence for one minute” at 11 spots in Dhaka – including Osmani Memorial Auditorium, Shahbag, Uttara, Bijoy Sarani, Mirpur-10, Gabtoli, Moghbazar, Mohakhali, Gulshan-1, Kamalapur, and Jatrabari.
From 9:30am to 10:00am, officials of various departments and organisations under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, scout members of schools and colleges, local public representatives, traffic police and members of the Transport Owners Association will join the human chains.
During that one minute of silence, vehicles will be called on to refrain from blowing horns in a bid to maintain noise-free streets.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sound above 60 decibels can cause temporary deafness and sound above 100 decibels can cause total deafness.
In a survey conducted by the environment department at 206 locations in eight divisional cities of the country under the “Integrated and Partnership Programme on Noise Pollution Contro”, impulse noise levels ranging from a minimum of 40 decibels to a maximum of 133.4 decibels at designated locations along roads were recorded.
Vehicular honking was identified as one of the sources of noise pollution. People who live in areas with excessive horn use are at serious health risk, according to the report.