Time to silence the ear-splitting silencers

Thane rural district's Navghar police have cracked down following a clutch of complaints against noisy bikers. The police have begun a drive against bikers using modified silencers. Because these silencers are modified, these bikes make so much noise, upping the existing noise pollution levels in the city.

The police are not just seizing such bikes but also destroying the modified silencers in front of their owners, a report in this paper said. More than 35 silencers have been destroyed in the last couple of weeks.

We know that this is all about less noise but we stand up and applaud loudly when it comes to this action by our cops. It is disappointing that the bikers have little thought or empathy for those disturbed as they continue to zoom through the roads and through residential areas with their ear-splitting decibel levels.

Research has shown that noise pollution can have significant adverse impact on health. Even if these bikers do not know every negative effect of noise pollution, they are surely old enough to know that their action is hugely disturbing. There may be old people and the ailing in the vicinity and it is simply unfair to subject them to these decibel levels.

Noise pollution is often treated with utmost flippancy in a chaotic city where deafening decibel levels are taken as part of living in the megapolis. From the daily clamour and blare of traffic horns to festivals when the public is subjected to unbearable din, we have scant respect for silence or the need for thinking of ways in which we can mitigate the noise levels. With Mumbai already struggling to cope with current levels, we certainly don't need bikers inflicting us with more noise. Well done, police, but it is a sad commentary on society that you have to tackle this.

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