3 months of silent zone around Dhaka airport: Noise pollution rises, study finds
According to the study conducted by the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), within the two months after declaring the “silent zone,” noise pollution in the area has increased by around 1%
Highlights:
- Noise level at airport's main entrance rose by 0.50%
- It rose by 2.97% at domestic aviation entrance
- Vehicles at U-turns near the main entrance major contributor
- Absence of mobile court drive by city corporation
- Lack of awareness among driver, passengers
Nearly three months have passed since the "silent zone" initiative was introduced in the vicinity of Dhaka airport. This initiative, however, has failed to garner any success in reducing noise pollution in the area.
According to the study conducted by the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), within the two months after declaring the "silent zone," noise pollution in the area has increased by around 1%.
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In the area, overall noise pollution decreased in the first phase after implementation. However, it increased by about 1% in the second phase compared to the first, findings suggest.
According to the study, the average noise level at the airport's main entrance before the silent zone was declared was 89.19 decibels. It rose to 90.03 decibels immediately after the announcement of the silent zone. Two months after implementation, the average noise level stood at 89.68 decibels, an increase of about 0.50% from before the declaration.
The study also found that noise pollution increased by 0.94% at the airport's main entrance and 1.19% at the domestic aviation entrance in the five days following the implementation of the silent zone. However, after two months, noise pollution in front of Le Meridian hotel decreased by 4.46% and Scholastica School point by 1.05%.
In addition, noise pollution increased at both the airport's main entrance and domestic aviation entrance by 0.54% and 2.97% respectively.
During a visit yesterday at the Dhaka airport area, this TBS correspondent saw the entire area was affected by traffic jams and noise pollution. Except for a few banners on noise pollution prevention awareness, there appeared to be no monitoring activities undertaken by either the city corporation or the Department of Environment.
Delwar Hossain, a commuter on the Airport road, told TBS, "I have not seen any initiative to reduce noise pollution on this road. I have witnessed the mobile court activities [on this road] only on a few occasions, and during those times, the noise from the horns remained at a troubling volume."
"Notably, the vehicles that tend to honk the most on this road are those belonging to the police and government," he added.
Talking to TBS, Chairman of CAPS Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder attributed the noise pollution increase to lack of public awareness.
Drivers and passengers are not well-informed about it. Also, there were limitations regarding the marking of silent zone areas, he said.
"Noise pollution is increasing due to the traffic jam caused by U-turns in front of the main gate of the airport," he added.
He also called for stopping the import of hydraulic horns, increasing the penalty for honking and issuing licences after sound awareness testing of drivers.
On condition of anonymity, an official of Dhaka North City Corporation told TBS that they are yet to conduct any large-scale activities to implement the initiative. "It was supposed to operate mobile court drives from the city corporation. However, it has not been possible considering that the initiative was in its initial stage."
Earlier, on 10 September this year, Environment, Forest, Climate Change and Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan declared the silent zone covering three kilometres of the surrounding area of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
With the Environment Ministry, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) also declared a 1.5km radius around Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport a "silent zone" to control noise pollution.
Implementation of the initiative started on 1 October.
The designated zone stretches from Scholastica School to Hotel Le Méridien, covering both the northern and southern sides of the airport.
The notice also said that the decision aligned with Rule 4 of the Noise Pollution Control Rules, 2006, and aims to reduce noise levels in the vicinity of the airport.
