The Transport Drivers took an Oath not to blow the Horn
By Adnan Tazvir
Bangladesh: To prevent noise pollution the drivers of the transport of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) and the Department of Environment (Bangladesh have taken an oath not to blow vehicles horns.
They took the oath in a training workshop for transport drivers and workers under an integrated and participatory project on noise pollution control under implementation by the Department of Environment.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of the workshop, Ziaul Hassan, Secretary, MoEFCC, said that this type of training of the government transports drivers would help to encourage the other drivers. He suggested that organise the training of vehicles drivers of other ministries/departments like this.
Humayun Kabir, Additional Director General of the Department of Environment and Director of the Integrated and Partnership Project on Noise Pollution spoke at the training workshop.
He said that this training is for the transport drivers of the MoEFCC and the Department of Environment today. Later, training will be given to all transport drivers under other ministries.
He urged the transport drivers to abide by the traffic rules and regulations as they work under government departments/ministries. So that others can learn by watching them and encourage other drivers to be aware of noise pollution and respect the law.
Presenting an article at the workshop, Khandaker Mahmud Pasha, Assistant Director, Department of Environment, said, “Considering the severity of noise pollution, the Department of Environment is taking and implementing integrated and participatory responsibility projects for noise pollution control in the period 2020-2022. It is very important to increase public awareness as well as law enforcement to control noise pollution.”
“Meanwhile, the Secretariat of the Department of Environment and adjoin the Agargaon area have been declared as silent areas. Its implementation mostly depends on the drivers of the transport. Private cars are most responsible for noise pollution. Private cars make 19.41 percent more noise than other cars. Harmful issues of noise pollution also need to be highlighted among those who are associated with the ride-sharing service.” Uttered in the article.
In another Article, Sheikh Professor Nurul Fattah Rumi, Head, Department of ENT at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMC) Hospital, said, “As science progresses in the world, our life becomes easier. At the same time, our environment is being more polluted.”
“Noise pollution affects both physical and mental health. In addition to hearing loss, noise pollution is one of the major causes of high blood pressure, fatigue, heart disease, insomnia, fatigue, stress, etc. Noise pollution adversely affects the health of children and the health of pregnant mothers and their unborn children.” he added.
Lokman Hossain Mollah, director, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority(BRTA), said, “The BRTA is working on noise pollution. They are taking this issue seriously in their training activities. They will work together with the Department of the Environment.”
SM Shamim, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic Tejgaon), said, “We need to be very respectful of the law in controlling noise pollution. Despite the police having speed guns, the transport drivers constantly raised the issue of non-compliance with traffic rules and speed rules.”
He added, “We have been filed 17 cases in 5 minutes with the machine in ignoring traffic laws by the transport drivers. The tendency to disobey the law is much higher among our drivers.”
“There were 115 cases filed in 2020 for blowing hydraulic horns. Noise pollution cannot be prevented by lawsuits. This requires the cooperation of all together.” he added.
Md. Solaima Haider, Director (Planning) of the Department of Environment, said, “Transport drivers need to be much more aware of noise pollution. Especially giving priority to pedestrians on the road. Not to embarrass the pedestrian by blowing the horn where necessary.”
“Observe the laws well while walking on the road. Especially, those areas which have been identified as silent areas should refrain from blowing the horns.” He added.
Ashraf Uddin, Director General of the Department of Environment, said, “Although noise pollution is caused from different sources, the horn of the cars is one of the reasons.”
The number of cars is increasing day by day due to ride-sharing. Therefore, if the car drivers are not aware, it is not possible to deal with a silent killer like noise pollution. Various installations are being constructed along our highway. These are also issues that urban planners should keep in mind.” He added.
“In the future, the Department of Environment will conduct regular mobile courts in collaboration with the DMP in the Agargaon area identified as a silent area. In this case, everyone’s cooperation is highly desirable.”
The training was attended by transports drivers from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Department of Environment.
