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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VHP slams Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge for 'money laundering' comment on RSS
Nagpur (PTI): The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday slammed Karnataka Congress minister Priyank Kharge for linking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to money laundering and asserted such statements were part of a strategy to insult patriotic organisations and defame patriots.
Kharge, while speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, cited the RSS' "network of more than 2,500 organisations, they are from America, England" to allege "these people are into money laundering".
Addressing a press conference here, VHP national organisational secretary Milind Parande said such statements will reduce the acceptance in society of those making them.
"They are trying to increase their credibility and trying to indulge in appeasement (with such remarks), both of which will not succeed. There are many forces and persons in India who have a problem with the awakening of Hindutva. They are coming up with such nonsense. Using such words and insulting patriotic organisations shows their intellectual bankruptcy," he said.
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"It will reduce their acceptance in society. What he (Kharge) said is absolutely false and even they know it. But they do it as a strategy to defame patriots. The people of Karnataka must think whether such people should be brought back to power. Hence, the VHP always asserts those who believe in the interests of Hindus must be in power at the Centre and in the states," Parande added.
Asked about the BNP winning polls in Bangladesh and whether it will improve the conditions of the Hindus there, Parande said it is expected that the community is protected irrespective of who is in power. So far, people there have been incapable of protecting Hindus, he said in reference to attacks on the community since the Sheikh Hasina government fell following an uprising in August 2024.
Asserting that most of the violence has been sponsored by political parties, Parande said, "The Hindu community is in a very dangerous situation in Bangladesh."
He also refused to comment on the face-off between the Uttar Pradesh government and Swami Avimukteshwaranand during Magh Mela festivities in Prayagraj. A controversy erupted on Mauni Amavasya morning at the Sangam Nose when police, citing heavy crowd pressure, allegedly stopped the seer from proceeding to the Sangam in a palanquin along with a large number of supporters.
The VHP as a practice does not give a statement on disputes between saints as it would not be appropriate, Parande said.
Without taking the name of Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, the VHP leader said it was surprising anyone from the state can make such a remark about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Congress leader has courted controversy by equating 18th Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan with the founder of the Maratha Empire.
On some persons sprinkling cow urine to purify a temple in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar following the visit of Muslim Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar in Sillod on Mahashivratri on Sunday, Parande said places of worship must be visited by those who have faith.
Without genuine sentiment, it becomes a mere political stunt, he said.
"Religion should never be exploited for political gain, as that insults faith," Parande said while not commenting on the 'purification' episode linked to the incident.
