Noise levels in residential areas

Noise levels in residential areas keep increasing
B Aravind Kumar & Pushpa Narayan | TNN

Chenai: R Ramachandran, 65, chose to live on IInd Main Road, Anna Nagar, years ago because the broad roads, trees and the quietness kept him away from the city’s din. But his dream house has been giving him sleepless nights of late.
In the last decade, the road, that had only houses, has been steadily turning into a business hub. “In New Delhi, the shops in residential areas were all demolished. Why is that not being applied here?” Ramachandran, a senior citizen, asks.
“Honking is another major problem. The continuous honking by some of these motorists must be causing sleepless nights for residents. To top it all, they have these fancy horns that make strange noises. There should be restrictions imposed in silent zones,” says P Sudhakar, joint director, CPR Environmental Education Centre. In the nights, the traffic police should allow only a few major roads to be used and close vehicular movement on all other roads, he suggests.
His feelings were echoed by many people in residential localities; particularly because doctors have been saying that noise-induced deafness can lead to other health problems. Noise induces stress and the adrenaline can cause various problems including hypertension, cardiac arrest or stroke. “Many complain of insomnia and irritability,” says Dr Mohan Kameshwaran, MD, Madras ENT Research Foundation.
So much for Anna Nagar, Adyar and Kilpauk that were so far in the Chennai’s quiet neighbourhood category, and are now some of the noisiest. Scientists say the noise pollution levels in silent zones in fact are higher than the maximum permissible limits of noise in industrial areas.
The levels in other areas are still worse. If the TNPCB study concluded that the noise levels recorded at Guindy and Chennai Central, were higher than the permissible levels or commercial and residential areas, mainly due to vehicular movement, the IIT-M study found those in Triplicane, T Nagar and Teynampet equally bad.
Surprisingly, the noise of traffic in South Chennai was more than that in North Chennai. “In Anna Nagar, it is primarily due to vehicular noise. As many BPOs have sprung up in the residential area, the noise levels are quite high even in the nights as these companies work all through the night,” says Sudhakar. His team is also working on a survey of noise pollution in the city. “With time, people will realise the hazards of noise pollution. Right now, they are not able to comprehend the magnitude of the entire problem,” he adds.
aravind.kumar4@timesgroup.com

Source : Times of India - Chennai - 11.08.2008