The rise in decibel level during Diwali has become a pain for residents of the steel city

Jamshedpur, Nov. 22: Bistupur, Sonari and Kadma earned the tag of being the noisiest places in the city this Diwali.

If the survey on sound pollution conducted by the regional office of Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) is any indication, these places had the highest decibel levels, compared to other places. The regional office of JSPCB conducted two surveys. The first survey was carried out two days before Diwali and the other on the day itself. Nineteen areas were covered in the survey.

The place under survey included Circuit House Area, Dimna crossing, Nishant Vihar (Adityapur), South Park area (in Bistupur), civil court in Hume Pipe, Tisco workers? flat (in Sakchi), Geetanjali, Adarshnagar and Ashiana housing complexes (in Sonari), Mango bus stand, Bistupur GPO (General Post Office), Sakchi square and areas within 100-m of the Tata Main Hospital (TMH) and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital.

The survey report pointed out that N-Road crossing in Bistupur, Jaya Prabha Complex in Kadma and Geetanjali and two other complexes in Sonari were largely affected by noise pollution on Diwali due to the large number of crackers burst on the day.

The maximum decibel limit at the N-Road crossing in Bistupur was recorded at 106 decibel between 6 am and 9 pm on Diwali and 72 decibels between 10 pm and 2 pm.

At housing complexes like Geetanjali, Adarshnagar and Ashiana in Sonari, the decibel level between 6 am and 9 pm was recorded at 117, 110 and 115 decibels, which was much higher than the prescribed limits.

In Jaya Prabha Complex in Kadma, the noise level was found to be 117 decibels between 6 am and 9 pm and 77.4 decibel between 10 pm and 2 pm. In the survey conducted two days before Diwali, the decibel limit at the same complex was between 60.6 to 64.6 decibels.

At Sakchi square, one of the busiest areas in the city, the noise level was found to be 98 decibels on Diwali between 6 am and 9 pm while the decibel level on the civil court premises in Hume Pipe was found to be 91 decibels. The decibel level at Tisco Workers? Flat area in Sakchi also rose between 6 am and 9 pm on Diwali. The decibel limit was fixed at 116 decibels. According to the ambient air quality standards, the decibel level should not exceed more than 70 decibels between 10 pm and 2 pm and 75 decibel between 6 am and 9 pm in industrial areas. In residential areas, the limit is 55 decibel between 6 am and 9 pm and 45 decibel during night.

In commercial areas, the noise limit has been fixed at 65 decibels between 6 am and 9 pm and 55 decibels between 10 pm and 2 pm. In the silence zones (areas up to 100-m around hospitals, educational institutions and courts) the specified decibel limit 6 am and 9 pm is 50 decibels and 40 decibels between 10 pm and 2 pm.

?This was the first time such a survey was conducted in the city. In the previous years, a similar survey could not be carried out in the absence of a noise metre. This year, a noise metre was made available to us from the JPCB headquarters,? said Manikant Prasad, regional officer of JSPCB. According to Prasad, the regional office of the state pollution control board conducted the survey following a circular from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which asked regional authorities to monitor the ambient air quality in respect to the noise pollution.