BANKE, July 14: Nepalgunj was declared a pressure horn prohibited area in November 2018. During that time, the police conducted programs ranging from public awareness to action to ban horns. However, the police gradually began to ignore the ban due to which large vehicles have started blowing their pressure horns on the main road of Nepalgunj again.
Police have put up a board with a notice stating that it is forbidden to blow pressure horns in various places. However, the notice is no longer followed. Under the leadership of Hirendra Rokaya, who was the district traffic chief at the time, the Nepalgunj area was declared a ‘pressure horns free zone.’ However, the traffic police chief who succeeded Rokaya did not prioritize the task and the campaign has been left stranded.
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The pressure horn does not only increase noise pollution, but it also increases the risk of accidents. City buses and Indian cargo trucks are particularly responsible for increasing noise pollution. The human ear can only hear sounds up to 60 decibels. According to the traffic police, pressure horns produce noises from 80 to 100 decibels in Dhambozhi, BP Chowk, Pushpalal Chowk and other areas of Nepalgunj.
Advocate Biswajit Tiwari, one of the persons who appealed for noise pollution control in the court, said one of the major parts of noise pollution control is controlling pressure horns. However, he said that both the citizens and the state have not shown seriousness in the implementation of the pressure horn free zone.
Similarly, Himalaya Shah, chief of the Traffic Police Office, Banke, admitted that the traffic police have been paying less attention to the campaign since the announcement. He also said that problems arise when the citizens do not support such campaigns. Traffic chief Shah said that they were focusing on the management of e-rickshaws and traffic lights rather than taking action against those who blow pressure horns.
“My priority has been in e-rickshaw management. We have formulated working procedures for e-rickshaw management in the sub-metropolis. About 1,350 rickshaws have been registered as per the procedure,” said Shah. According to him, it would be easier to tighten the ban on pressure horns after the management of e-rickshaws and the connection of traffic lights is completed.
