None can be silent on this Ajai Sreevatsan
| Tampering with autorickshaws' silencers leads to noise pollution |
Autorickshaw drivers say MTC buses and other vehicles do not adhere to norms either
CHENNAI: Fifty-year-old K.E. Rajamannar, a resident of Velachery, has a curious wake-up alarm. It is the deafening sound from an autorickshaw zipping past his home. The noise wakes him with a start at 5.30 a.m. with alarming regularity.
Marginal savings
Most of the 53,000-odd autorickshaws in the city operate with tampered silencers.
Autorickshaw drivers admit that it is a violation of noise pollution norms, but cite marginal savings on fuel and better pick-up acceleration as factors that push them to tamper with the silencer.
“The noise is extremely irritating. We are losing peace. I am not an expert, but something should be added or removed from the silencer to convert the vehicles into normal autorickshaws,” says Mr. Rajamannar.
Autorickshaws coming out of the production line have something called ‘noise mufflers'. The cup-shaped device encloses the silencer and helps in reducing the noise from the exhaust.
However, autorickshaw drivers such as J. Seshasayanam, general secretary of the Madras Metro Auto Drivers' Association, say that the first thing that a driver does to a new vehicle is to remove these mufflers.
“The cups restrict the smooth flow of exhaust air. By removing it, drivers achieve better pick-up acceleration and also marginally save on fuel cost. It is also a business tactic. The public has to hear the sound of an autorickshaw approaching,” he says.
Though he accepts that it is mistake, Mr. Seshasayanam says that even MTC buses and other government vehicles do not adhere to noise pollution norms and “we cannot be expected to be perfect”.
Never checked
He adds that it is easy to get through the Fitness Certificate (FC) process despite the silencer tampering as “most vehicles are never checked.”
Though complaints from residents and road users about the sound emanating from the autorickshaws is increasingly becoming common, only 119 cases were registered against the drivers for silencer tampering in 2010.
C. Jacinth, Director, Institute of Otorhino Laryngology, Government General Hospital, says that while the human ear can tolerate noise levels of only 70dB, engine noise from autorickshaws with tampered silencers can go up to 140 dB.
In a recent study done by the hospital on hearing impairment among street vendors, most participants showed signs of partial deafness.
“Noise pollution is a serious menace. But nobody is addressing it,” said Dr . Jacinth.
Sumaira Abdulali of the Awaaz Foundation, an NGO that works in the field of noise pollution, says that autorickshaw drivers have simply not been told that noise is harmful and illegal.
Dangerous trend
“Similar to the mandatory Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, vehicles must be made to undergo regular noise checks and certified. Noise is as much an aspect of a vehicle's road worthiness as anything else. To be heard above the noise that their engines generate, motorists are resorting to louder horns. This is a dangerous trend,” she adds.
M. Ravi, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said that autorickshaw drivers cannot claim fuel saving as an excuse to violate the law.
“If it is not permitted, it is illegal. We will have to go in for random checks in coordination with the Transport Department to curb this practice.”
