High-decibel honking menace rattles Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Giving a go-by to the norms of noise pollution, a majority of TSRTC, private buses and heavy vehicles have been using horns that generate high decibel sounds causing nuisance and inconvenience to commuters on roads as well as people who reside nearby the bus bays and bus depots.

According to the Motor Vehicle Act, the permissible limit for horns is 80 decibels. However, the RTC and private buses are crossing over 110 decibels raising the hackles of commuters and others, who have lodged several complaints hoping to see the government takes the stern action against the violators.

However with the officials giving a cold shoulder, several took to social media to complain about the menace. "The RTC buses of Bandlaguda depot honk beyond 110 decibels and use horns as per their wish disturbing people on roads and nearby habitations. We appeal to the TSRTC MD to look into the issue," tweeted K Ranga Reddy, tagging TSRTC MD VC Sajjanar. Responding to the tweet, TSRTC instructed the depot manager to conduct counselling to the crew on the issue and ensure that no high decibel horns were used by the buses. "There has been rise in noise pollution in the area due to high decibel horns used by the buses. We residents are daily dealing with the issue and even after several complaints, no action has been taken. The horns make extremely loud noise and should not be used," said Mohammed Asif, a social activist.

When asked about RTC buses, an official of TSRTC said, "We do not book cases against RTC as it is a government body. We have cautioned them on the hazards and currently some buses are equipped with bulb horns. We are also conducting the counselling to the crew on using high decibel horns." Meanwhile, a driver said that they would install additional horns (electric) to use in the city limits and would use air horns when they are on the highways.

As per the Motor Vehicle Act, Rule 119, to curb noise pollution in the city and move towards making Hyderabad a honking-free city, the Hyderabad Traffic police has taken up an initiative last month and had given 15 days time to all vehicles that have air horns to replace them.

According to traffic police, they used a Sound Level Meter (SLM) and found that all the air horns sound of buses was more than 110 decibels, while the permissible limit was 80 decibels. An official from the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) said, "Every month, at least 800 cases are booked against vehicles that do not comply with pollution norms, which also include defective horns."