Nagpur city which is sailing through the infrastructure development phase, is also facing the silent threat of noise pollution these days. The Environment Status Report (ESR) of CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) has revealed that more than 50 per cent places in the city have the noise level more than 80 dB which is harmful for human health. CSIR-NEERI conducted a study in which an innovative approach of noise monitoring using bicycle mounted sound level meter utilised. Increase in population associated with economic growth and extended road stretch directly escalated the number of vehicles. In the city, currently, the estimated number of vehicles is around 12.9 lakhs.

 

CSIR-NEERI collected noise samples from 700 sites in the city. Among them, 374 sampling sites had a noise level greater than 80 dB, while 325 sampling sites had a noise level between 60-80 dB. This shows that majority of the sampling sites are affected by high noise levels. More than 100 dB of noise levels are detected in Wards 16, 15, 19, 22, 27, 23, 24 , 25, 3, 34, 36, 18, 33, 32, 8, 28 through National Highway No 7, National Highway No 6, Minor Road, Ring Road, Chandrapur-Nagpur Highway, West High Court Road, State Highway No 255, Rameswari Road, Manewada Road, Hudekeswar Road, Bakramandi Main Road, Timki Bazar Road and Ramna Maruti Road. Similarly, the lower noise levels are observed in Wards 1, 2, 4, 12, 13, 14, 26, 28, 29, 34, 37, and 38 due to their locations being outskirts of the city and also possess good vegetation cover which helps in mitigating noise levels. The study also revealed that the highest noise level 105.8 dB (A) is observed in ward 33 across ring road.

 

Ward 35 is second noisiest ward with noise level 105.6 dB (A) across the minor road. As per the study, Equivalent Noise Level (Leq) in Nagpur was found is above 70 dB (A) at the majority of the locations. This exceeds the WHO guideline value of Leq 70 dB (A) for industrial, commercial, shopping and traffic area, indoors and outdoors and can lead to hearing impairment. Minimum Noise Level (Lmin) values ranged from 40.6 to 72.2 dB (A) and Maximum Noise Level (Lmax) values ranged from 72.4 to 129.2 dB (A). Lmin at the majority of the locations in Nagpur city was found to be in 55-70 dB (A) which itself is exceeding the guideline values for annoyance set at 55 dB (A) by WHO Guidelines for Community Noise, 1999. A total of 700 sampling locations were selected including various road category like National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), ring roads, major roads, minor roads, railway crossings and different land use categories for different transport types.

 

Moreover, residential, commercial and industrial were also considered for noise monitoring. Normally, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) monitor the noise level of the city during Diwali and Ganesh Festival seasons. But, the ongoing construction works, presence of huge number of vehicles on city roads should also be monitored apart from festival seasons. The study conducted by CSIR-NEERI explained that the noise pollution in city is also in higher side and the authorities must come forward to mitigate it.