Monday Musing
[M Doley]
Recently, I was jolted awake by a sudden and loud burst of sound in the middle of the night. At first I couldn’t figure out the source of the sound, but I immediately realized that it was just the deafening sound of a modified exhaust of a two-wheeler speeding off into the distance.
As I live in a rented apartment near the highway in Itanagar, the ear-shattering sounds from such bikes have become a daily dose of punishment for me and my neighbours, through no fault of ours. What is even more annoying is the riders making a hullabaloo, shouting in groups while riding bikes late at night.
Sometimes, bike or car exhausts are modified for better performance. But around here, it seems like some bikers do it just to stand out and disturb sleep. They love to drive aggressively and at high speeds, especially at night, creating loud sounds, unaware of the negative impacts of their reckless behaviour.
Needless to say, excessive sound interferes with concentration and can negatively impact the health and mental wellbeing of others.
The rule restricts the permissible noise level to around 80 to 90 decibels. In areas near educational institutes, health facilities and courts, etc, the permissible noise level is 50 decibels during the day time and 40 decibels at night. However, modified bike exhausts, or exhausts not fitted with silencers, often exceed these limits.
Then there are bikers who ride in a zigzag manner, swerving across the entire road like someone with eczema who cannot sit still, or as if someone is tickling them. By doing so, they not only endanger their own lives but also pose a great risk to others.
Modifying a bike in a way that doesn’t conform to the Motor Vehicles Act, or using exhausts that produce noise beyond the permissible limit is an illegal and punishable offence.
But who will tighten the noose around these violators?
The law enforcing authorities can crack down on such offences with ease, if they wish to. But they seem to never take this seemingly small but important public concern seriously. The people will lose confidence in the law enforcement authorities if they continue to ignore this public nuisance, as maintaining a calm and peaceful atmosphere is one of their key responsibilities.
