Since the campaign against unnecessary honking kicked off from July 2, MPTD has punished 993 heavy vehicles for reckless honking. The vehicles were found to have replaced the standard in-built horns with the noisiest pressure and digital horns. [break]
DSP Pawan Giri, spokesperson of MPTD, informed that the booked vehicles were sent to Department of Transport Management (DoTM) for a fine of Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 as per Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 BS.
The traffic police also removed pressure horns and digital horns from the vehicles for the horns produce noisy and intolerable sound that have, according to health experts, negative impact upon public health.
“A majority of heavy vehicles were found to be using pressure and digital horns in place of the standard horns. Such horns are not environment friendly,” he said.
Public, especially children and elderly citizens, are more likely to suffer from hearing loss if they are exposed to heavy noise. “The sole aim of the campaign is to discourage the use of such horns. We will continue to punish heavy vehicles until they fall back to using standard horns,” he informed.
According to MTPD, the standard sound level for vehicles is 60 to 70 decibels in busy cities like Kathmandu. However, majority of the heavy vehicles using pressure and digital horns exceed that limit and produce sound more than 120 decibels, which is considered dangerous for human health.
Health experts say that noise pollution causes problems like headache, deafness, irritation, stress, loss of concentration, dizziness, cardiovascular diseases and insomnia, among others.
DSP Giri said MPTD is making arrangement to set up numerous ´No Horn´ sign posts in noise sensitive areas like hospitals and schools across the valley within a month. “We do have a few no horn sign posts in various noise sensitive areas, but drivers are found using horns in the areas ignoring signals, which is illegal. But we will now act strictly against such vehicles,” he added.
MPTD plans to take action against smaller vehicles in the later phase of the campaign.
Related story
The allure of an international degree
