Cuttack, Oct. 2: Blowing horns on the SCB Medical College and Hospital campus here is affecting hundreds of patients.

Lack of enforcement of standing instructions that restrict use of horns in and around hospitals has led to a significant rise in noise pollution here.

A few years ago, the state pollution control board, during a survey, had identified Mangalabag and Badambadi as the places most affected by noise pollution. “It is very irritating when people continuously blow horns on the hospital campus. It creates problems, especially for those whose treatments require silence,” said Ramakant Sahu, an attendant of a patient from Keonjhar.

Loud horns can be heard everyday from 8am to 10pm and the wards, including surgery, medicine, casualty, gynaecology, eye and paediatrics, located near the road, bear the maximum brunt of honking, said Sahu.

Many commuters use the SCB campus to travel to Ranihat from Mangalabag and back to avoid the main road rush. However, a complete check on the entry of vehicles using the SCB campus as a thoroughfare has not yet been possible.

Experts are of the view that unwanted noise affects health and behaviour, as it causes annoyance, depression, hypertension, stress and memory loss. “Noise pollution in and around SCB at Mangalabag is rampant. This is mainly because of lack of awareness of the ill effects of noise and civic sense,” said Dinesh Agarwal, a local resident.

An SCB official admitted that unrestricted entry of vehicles had resulted in a rise in noise pollution on the campus.

“Police have tightened security and efforts are on to check unauthorised entry of vehicles. We will also urge officials to ensure that unnecessary honking is restricted here,” said emergency officer B.N. Moharana.

“We will soon initiate measures to create awareness by putting up no-horn posters within 100 metres radius of the campus,” said Moharana.

Another police officer said regular enforcement was being carried out to stop the use of multi-tone horns and over 10 such violators were being caught every month.

“The high court area has been declared as a silent zone and noise pollution has been checked to some extent. We will try our best to enforce no-honking rules in and around various hospitals shortly,” said deputy commissioner of police S. Praveen Kumar.