Madaripur is going to be the first horn-free district in Bangladesh
Recently Madaripur was identified as the district with the least air pollution in a nationwide survey by the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS).
This time, the administration has taken the initiative to bring the district first regarding noise pollution. The Deputy Commissioner of Madaripur said that this gateway to South Bengal would be the first horn-free district in the country.
Dr. Rahima Khatun, Deputy Commissioner of the district, said these in an awareness meeting about noise pollution. The Department of Environment, under the ‘Integrated and Partnership Project on Noise Pollution Control,’ has organized the event to raise public awareness of noise pollution control.
Earlier, the research institute (CAPS) collected 24-hour noise pollution data from 5 places in the Madaripur district as part of noise pollution measurement in 64 districts under the project.
The project has led by Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumdar, head of CAPS and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Sciences of Stamford University.
Besides, the CAPS and EQMS Consulting Limited assist the Department of Environment in this research and public awareness. By participating in the meeting, people from different levels raised their complaints about noise pollution in the district. They gave much advice on what to do to solve it.
At that time, Sohan, District Co-Ordinator of BD Clean, said, “There is a signboard on the highway regarding not playing any horn. However, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) does not inform about this law while granting a license.
That is why drivers do not obey the law. They need to be informed and convinced. Besides, more awareness meetings should hold with transport drivers and teachers-students.”
He also said that the district’s young social workers and the organization’s members would be ready to cooperate with the district administration and environment department in any awareness work to control noise pollution.
Maulana Lutfar Rahman, Leader of the District Imam Association, said, “Many other things like a car horn, the use of additional mics in DJ parties causes noise pollution.”
Therefore, he suggested monitoring the rental companies of these devices to control the unwanted use of microphones or sound boxes. He also assured the Imams would stand by the administration to control noise pollution and suggested more seminars for car drivers.
In the chief guest’s speech, Dr. Rahima Khatun, Deputy Commissioner of the District, said, “Sound ruptures not only the eardrum but also controls the neurons. We have declared the area in front of the district administration noise-free as part of making the district sound-free.
We want the entire city of Madaripur to be like a silent zone free from noise pollution. No horn must implement. We want Madaripur to be the first horn-free district in the country. We will conduct a workshop with the transport officials to implement a Horn-free district.
We will work with students. We will bring social workers to the field. If someone blows the horn, they will catch up. The traffic police will give punishment.
We will run the mobile court with the magistrate. If necessary, we will keep a helpline for filing complaints. We want Madaripur to be the least polluted district in terms of noise pollution.”
