Ranchi, Nov. 7: Residential areas in the capital celebrated this Diwali the noisy way. The decibel demon also reared its head in silence zones.

According to a survey conducted by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) on Diwali, i.e. November 5, the noise meter recorded high readings at Ashok Nagar, Mecon Colony and HEC-Sector 3 in comparison to last year. The noise level at these three places between 6.40pm and 7.30pm was 75db, 72.7db and 70db, respectively.

The area around Raj Bhavan, RIMS and Jharkhand High Court, all silence zones, recorded 73.6db, 63.1db and 70.1db, respectively.

In 2009, the residential areas stuck to the permissible limit while commercial areas generated the maximum noise. The noise meter read only 54.3db at Mecon last year, RIMS had recorded 54.1db while the corresponding figure at high court was 58.4db and 70.3db at Raj Bhavan.

According to Diwali norms, the noise limit for industrial areas is 75db, commercial areas 65db, residential areas 55db and silence zones 40db.

“It was quite surprising to find that the residential areas recorded such high readings. People there burst ear-splitting firecrackers. Even silence zones like RIMS and high court also violated the rules,” said JSPCB member Subodh Kumar Singh, who monitored the noise level on Diwali.

The decibel meter shot up to 80.4db at CMPDIL on Kanke Road, a commercial centre, while Birsa Chowk recorded 77.5db. Loudspeakers and firecrackers were blamed for the high readings.

JSPCB had also kept a tab on the decibel meter on November 4 — the day before Diwali.

It monitored the sound level from 2pm to 8pm at 19 select locations — Tupudana, Hatia market, Project Building, Birsa Chowk, High Court, Sujata Chowk, GEL Church Complex, Kantatoli Chowk, Lalpur Chowk, Albert Ekka Chowk, Kutchery Chowk, RIMS, Governor House, CMPDIL, Ratu Road, Argora Chowk, Ashok Nagar, Shyamali Colony and HEC-Sector 3.

The survey showed that the noise level was much higher on November 5 than November 4.

Sinha said that they would send the report to the Central Pollution Control Board and would act accordingly after a further analysis. Ranchi sub-divisional officer Shekhar Jamuar said they had served notices to licence-holders, asking them to sell crackers in accordance with the board’s norms.

“Many of them did follow our instructions but petty traders violated the norms. We will act against them after consulting the pollution control board,” he added.