The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has directed state authorities to crack down on two-wheelers causing noise pollution through modified silencers. The court has asked the authorities to file personal affidavits by the next date of hearing on the action taken against owners of such bikes. A bench comprising Justice Abdul Moin passed the order on Tuesday, taking suo motu cognizance of noise pollution caused by modification of silencers in the Indian and foreign-made two-wheelers that emit noise above the permissible limit of 80 decibels.
Directing its registry to treat the matter as a PIL and place it before an appropriate bench, Justice Moin directed principal secretary (transport), principal secretary, (home), director general of police, chairman, state pollution control board and deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Lucknow, to file their affidavits of compliance by August 10.
The court expressed concern over vehicular noise pollution and said, “Modification of noise mufflers/silencers has led to a situation where a vehicle driven hundreds of meters away can be heard, causing discomfort to children, old and infirm persons. The problem is like the legend of Hydra where two more heads emerge as soon as one head is severed."
The bench said, “The permissible limit for scooters and motorcycles ranges from 75 to 80 decibels and this is fixed at the manufacturing stage. By modifying the silencer or removing mufflers, noise limits exceed 80 decibels. The problem should be addressed by authorities."
Earlier this year, a video of the Udupi Police went viral where they can be seen destroying 51 silencers for causing noise pollution by crushing them with a road-roller. The step was taken in the presence of superintendent of police N Vishnuvardhan and additional superintendent of police Kumarchandra to send a clear message to the violators of traffic rules. The police department collected a fine of Rs 25,000 and booked 51 cases in the month of January 2021.
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SP N Vishnuvardhan said that the Udupi District police department observed a month-long road safety awareness drive from January 1 to 31 with the motto ‘Sadak Suraksha-Jeevan Raksha’. He further informed that the department has been receiving several complaints by residents in the Manipal area against motorcyclists who have installed modified noise-causing silencers on their two-wheelers.
(With inputs from IANS)
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