Bengaluru's silence zones among city's noisiest areas, reveals data
Bengaluru: Areas designated as 'silence zones' in Bengaluru, primarily around hospitals and educational institutions, have emerged as some of the noisiest pockets in the city, often recording sound levels far exceeding permissible limits, especially during night hours.
According to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s (KSPCB) May data, cited by The New Indian Express, the RVCE Mysore Road zone recorded night-time noise levels of 57.8 decibel (dB), exceeding the legal limit by 44.5%, while the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (NIMHANS) zone showed a 29% rise above permissible levels.
Ironically, even the KSPCB’s regional office complex at SG Halli, categorised under a residential category, showed one of the sharpest violations, with a 61.8% spike in noise levels at night.
Meanwhile, industrial zones like Peenya and Whitefield, typically assumed to be high-noise areas, were found to be compliant with noise regulations.
Between February and April this year, average night-time readings at silence zones like NIMHANS and RVCE Mysore Road hovered between 61 and 64 dB(A) — over 50% higher than permitted levels. RVCE even peaked at 70.3 dB(A), while NIMHANS recorded levels ranging from 56 to 63 dB(A). These areas are meant to remain quiet due to their proximity to hospitals and educational institutions, yet every month they show clear and repeated violations, added the report.
Prof Ashish Verma, Transportation Systems Engineering, Convenor, IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab, quoted in the report, highlighted the lack of noise barriers in Bengaluru, unlike cities such as Mumbai and Delhi. Citing IIT-Bombay as an example, where such barriers were installed to counter construction-related noise, he emphasised the urgent need for similar measures near hospitals and schools in Bengaluru.
Rajkumar Dugar, founder of Citizens for Citizens (C4C), pointed out the prevalence of illegal, multi-toned, and excessively loud horns, especially in silence and residential zones. “Noise pollution from vehicles, especially due to illegal horns and unnecessary honking, is a silent public health crisis. It affects physical and mental well-being, slows recovery in hospitals, and lowers productivity,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
Dugar also called for stricter enforcement against not just the use of illegal horns but their manufacture and fitting. “Noise monitoring in a city like Bengaluru cannot be limited to just 10 locations — KSPCB must scale up,” he added.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
