Oh my lonely heart!

 

To continue the saga of law enforcers of my housing complex being prime law violators of environmental laws: 

https://b-b-dash.blogspot.com/2025/12/aqi-and-lack-of-iq.html 

Well, all my entreaties for sparing my ears (and that of many in the complex) fell on “deaf” ears – pun intended. My protestations were ignored as mere errors in taste and of no consequence. Until I sent a legal notice to the Secretary of the Owners’ Association, the concerned Commissioner of Police and West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). The next thing I knew, there was a call from the DGP urging me to “negotiate” and not to go the legal route. 

“Negotiations” meant being summoned to a Nuremberg trial with the 12 members of the Board of Managers ranged against little old me. I refrained and invited the Secretary to my house and home for a one-on-one. I suggested that the function be held inside the Club house building even though that was not fully as per the rules. However, he had come essentially to inform me that they’d go ahead as planned. My being a Cancer survivor and having developed Tinnitus after moving into this complex and my aged Mom being a dementia patient, etc. were considered of no import and were countered with the argument that New Year Eve happens only once a year. I thought, yes, Durga Puja celebrations happen for only four days a year, Diwali happens only once a year, Chhat Puja happens on only one day or for a week, Holi happens only once  a year, each person’s birthday is on one single day for himself/ herself although I’ve known a particular SP’s son having a birthday every month so that the SHOs could get at least 12 occasions to bestow their bounty and pledge fealty and so on … essentially, the “meeting” was a case of irresistible force meeting an immovable object and ended in an impasse. 

There was one more phone call.  I was asked to practically vacate myself from my own house and whether they could “very graciously” arrange for my accommodation – free of cost, presumably – at ITC hotels. Imagine the discourteousness! 

I didn’t want to go to the High Court and the Green Tribunal. These are vexing propositions at my age and very expensive too. Two of the newspapers carried the story. However, this didn’t deter the organisers the least bit. I presume, they must have managed a “special permission” from you-guessed-it, the Police, although there was no scope for that under the High Court orders. So, I sent out RTI applications for a copy of such order/s. 

I also thought about how to prove the violation in Court. Just an averment or recording of the decibel level by me would be laughed “out of Court.” I googled and found some agencies who measure pollution in air, water and noise level. I contacted several of them but drew a blank after initial promises. I was not even sure whether such measurements would carry any heft in the courts. In desperation, I checked the WBPCB website and found that they had an approved list of such certifiers. I rang each one of them. Some of them agreed but backed out, probably because of cops being involved; however, two of them agreed to arrange the measurements on the appointed date at the relevant times. Until I paid up and they landed up, I was still on knife’s edge but they finally did. 

I also explored the possibility of lodging a formal complaint with WBPCB. What I found was hilarious. There’re a phone no. and an app to do so. The phone no. takes you round and round through “press 1,” “press 2,” etc. until it says, “all our operatives are busy, kindly leave your name and phone no.” Well, I did, over three days and left my name and phone no. and was “left out” by WBPCB. I lodged a complaint twice on the app, received “token nos.” but those disappeared promptly – were they tokens of appreciation, or mere tokens? 

On the day of reckoning, I saw the DJ sets and high-pitched sound boxes being put up. The two agencies I'd engaged did turn up and set up their machines for continuous reading of the decibels. I braced myself for the entire Court ka chakkars. 

Just on the off-chance, I tried the phone no. of WBPCB again. Lo and behold, someone actually did pick up. He was as surprised as me. He told me to hold on so that he could gather a pen and paper – and his thoughts; diligently noted down my name, no., address and the complaint and assured that their team would visit within the hour. I asked him if he’d give me a token no. or a registration no. and he said mine was the first and only complaint so far on the date so 1/(date) was the token no.. So much for “all our operatives are busy.” 

The sound blast started off well before the scheduled time. It was getting progressively unbearable, until suddenly, there was “deafening” silence. I presume, either someone from WBPCB or the Police Station visited or there was wiser counsel. About an hour or so of silence later, there was fairly muted noise – they’d shifted everything indoors into the Club building! 

Even though this was not strictly as per the law and rules, my ears and I could live with this. Saved me a lot of bother – and costs – of doing the legal rounds. All this takes a toll on the nervous system of all concerned. There was a snarky comment on WhatsApp by a member next morning, “Had a lot of fun in the bash! And the best part was that we had it without breaking the law 😂” 

Glory be!

AQI and lack of IQ

Today, all the talk is about AQI (Air Quality Index). One Chief Minister thinks it is temperature, which can be measured by anything, up to and including a measuring tape. Proposed solution – throw water on the tape and close down the tandoors. Government admits to high AQI but addresses the root cause by stating that there’s no correlation between high AQI and lung problems. Another person, heading the most powerful country in the world thinks the world needs more global warming because he happens to feel chilly sometimes. We live in such times. 

In all this din, the real din, i.e., noise pollution, seems to have escaped people’s attention. Noise pollution leads to serious health issues – hearing loss, Tinnitus, high blood pressure, heart disease, stress, anxiety, sleep disruption, etc.. It also impairs concentration, memory, and productivity in a big way. Children, pets and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. It also harms wildlife by disrupting communication and survival. Here’s a sample of what people with Tinnitus live with, 24 hours a day: 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/I1unX9SVpPE 

Many countries take noise pollution extremely seriously. So much so that in London, aircraft landings and take offs are severely restricted during certain hours just because of the noise exceeding ambient noise by a wide margin. Scarborough, England cancelled fireworks on New Year Eve of 2023 so that a walrus who had ambled into their coast would not be disturbed in its rest.

By contrast, we in India seem to thrive on noise, the more, the merrier. While in many countries, honking is almost a no-no and is considered rude and aggressive, in India, we honk for a variety of reasons. We honk not only for warning other drivers or pedestrians, we do it to express greeting and joy, to show impatience, to announce our presence, as a safety valve to deal with road rage, paranoia and frustration or simply because we are bored. Stand on any traffic intersection during most hours and a cacophony assaults you beyond endurance limits. Any festival, any cause for celebration is never complete without microphones and amplifiers blaring all over the place. 

In January 1998, a 13-year old girl was a victim of rape. Her cries for help went unheard because of blaring noise of music over loudspeaker in the neighbourhood. The same evening, she committed suicide. This shook the conscience of the nation and brought to the fore the pestilential nature of undue noise. It also led to a Public Interest Litigation case before the Supreme Court which delivered a landmark judgement in 2005. 

The Supreme Court held that the fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, i.e., the right to life and liberty includes the right to freedom from noise pollution. This right cannot be violated by justification through right to freedom of speech and expression (Article 19) when the latter impinges upon a person’s fundamental right to life and liberty. 

The Supreme Court order (2005), Calcutta High Court order (2023), Noise pollution control rules and SOP by West Bengal Pollution Control Board boil down to these for West Bengal: 

·       Firecrackers are allowed only between 8 PM and 10 PM during Diwali, between 6 AM and 8 AM during Chhat Puja and between 11.55 PM and 12.30 AM during Christmas and New Year Eve. On any other occasion, prior permission is required, that too for two hours only. Noise of firecrackers cannot exceed 125 decibels at a distance of four metres.

·     Peripheral noise at the boundary of a public place cannot exceed 75 decibels and a residential place, 60 decibels. 60 decibels is basically the sound level when two persons are talking normally.

·     There cannot be instrument or sound amplifier between 10 PM and 6 AM at a residential place except in public emergencies. Also, no horn in residential areas during the above period.

·    Microphones and amplifiers can be used only after permission from Police/ district authorities after fixing a ‘Sound Limiter’ with the amplifier system.

·       Disc Jockey (DJ) set or high pitch sound box cannot be used in the open.

These regulations have been in place for a while. However, their implementation is another thing. I stay in a complex of senior Police officers, serving and retired. The violation of the above norms is rampant even in this complex of law enforcers. 

Looks like, people can’t live without bursting firecrackers. Diwali celebrations start before the day of Diwali. 8 PM to 10 PM window doesn’t seem to have any meaning. People start bursting crackers before 8 PM and continue well beyond 10 PM. Some other complexes nearby have banned firecrackers. People from some of these complexes land up in the Police complex to burst crackers, presumably safe in a sense of immunity because of its being a Police complex. As to 125 decibel limit, the less said, the better. Even basic safety precautions are not taken. Firecrackers land in houses. A senior officer standing innocently on his own balcony nearly lost an eye as a “rocket bomb” just whizzed past it. 

There’s no concept of ‘Sound Limiter.’ The decibel level during New year Eve is to be heard to be believed – walls shake. I guess, the time limit of 10 PM applies only to other people. 

When I suggested complying with the norms, I was asked to “explain” – possibly the first instance of law violators asking law abiders to “explain” their conduct! Well, I’ve taken recourse to legal intervention and I guess I’m currently the most unpopular guy for miles around. 

I hope, people in India realise the serious hazard they themselves are facing due to the callous disregard of noise pollution. I developed Tinnitus after moving into this Police complex. There is no cure.