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You put yourself in harm���s way every time you step out of the house to go to office, take your kids
to a cinema or go shopping. And it���s not just the chaotic traffic. Noise levels in the city have reached
dangerous levels - where it not only leads to deafness but also life-threatening conditions like
hypertension and cardiac diseases.
A survey conducted by the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Hearing Handicapped and Bengal Speech
and Hearing Clinic in association with The Times of India reveals that noise levels at the city���s eight
busy intersections are 200% above the permissible limit. It has affected the hearing abilities of nearly half
the city���s population. And it���s getting worse all the time because motorists do not care about
sound pollution rules and neither is the administration bothered about enforcing them.

Near SSKM Hospital, which is supposed to be a silence zone, the noise level is a shocking 109 db -
nearly as high as it is at Exide crossing or Gariahat.

The rules and regulations are in place but hardly anyone is penalized for honking in a silence zone or
setting up mikes in hospitals. The cacophony has grown in proportion to the spurt in the number of
vehicles in Kolkata. But the impact of noise pollution on Kolkatans has never been assessed though
environmentalists and medical experts have long been crying hoarse about the need.

The survey in association with TOI spanned important areas in the length and breadth of the city and
went beyond measuring noise levels alone. Hearing tests were conducted on people living and working
close to the intersections through audiometers to check the extent of damage that has been done by high
intensity traffic noise.

Howrah, BBD Bag, Esplanade, Sealdah, Shyambazar, Ultadanga, Gariahat and Rabindra Sadan (Exide
crossing) were selected for the survey. And the findings were shocking. While the average sound level
was 150 times the permissible limit, the peak time noise levels were nearly double. Even silence zones
were far from being quiet.

The decibel levels at these areas were nearly 200% of what they should be. This, in spite of laws to
control noise around hospitals and schools. No-honking signboards are hardly enough to deter motorists.
Even the vicinity of Writers��� Buildings - the seat of power - is a nightmare. When chief secretary
Amit Kiran Deb stepped out with a noise meter to flag off the survey at BBD Bag, he was alarmed when
he glanced at the display screen.

After a double-take, Deb said: "I had no idea that it was so bad. Sitting inside Writers���, one
doesn���t realize that the sound levels are so high." Eminent lawyer Gitanath Ganguly and Kolkata
Sheriff Dulal Bose who initiated the survey at Shyambazar and SSKM Hospital were just as shocked.

At all eight locations, the survey was carried out close to residential buildings. Data was recorded
between 10.30 am and 11.30 am, the busiest hour of the day.

The survey team couldn���t believe the noise reading in front of SSKM and NRS hospitals but
repeated tests bore out the bitter truth. On an average, the noise level was around 85-87 db, as against
the permissible limit of 50 db. The peak reading near SSKM was a mind-numbing 109 db.

The survey found that noise pollution levels were highest during change of traffic signals when vehicles
accelerated and honked to move ahead.
Tests done on people who lived and worked in noisy areas revealed that a majority of them had
developed irreversible hearing loss. Experts say it is also taking a toll on their health since deafness -
partial or permanent - is just one of the multiple ill-effects of sound pollution. ENT experts warn that noise
causes irritation which leads to sleep deprivation, elevated blood pressure and myriad health problems.
Some may feel fatigued all the time, others may have splitting headaches, acidity and indigestion. But
there is the bigger danger of cardiac and nervous disorders.