BENGALURU: Quite surprisingly, Whitefield and Peenya industrial areas have contained noise pollution within limits since April 2017, while the residential BTM Layout has seen a rise in air pollution and a 31.3% increase in noise pollution during night.
KSPCB sources said that the construction of Metro passing through BTM is one of the reasons for traffic jams which have led to increase in air and noise pollution.
KSPCB data reveal that noise pollution during day time at BTM has gone up by 15.1% when it should be 55dB, while at night it has gone up by 37.3% when the limit should be 45dB.
A consultant with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Mr Mahesh Kashyap, said, “BTM witnesses huge traffic at peak hours. The threshold for pollution in industrial areas is high, while for residential areas, it is low. Moreover, not all industries run in three shifts."
He attributed the increase in noise pollution to the attitude of motorists. “The moment signal turns green, vehicles behind you start honking, as if vehicles in front don’t move. This attitude should change," Mr Kashyap said.
KSPCB Chairman Lakshman said, “The movement of vehicles in industrial areas is one way and traffic management is good. Moreover, continuous honking is observed in the residential areas due to increased density of vehicles which contributes to noise pollution,” he said.
