Schoolchildren join ranks in the ‘No Honking Campaign’ in Mumbai.

If Mumbai city had hands then it would have permanently remained in its ears. The city is one of the loudest and noisiest cities of the world, according to WHO. One of the leading media houses along with the Awaaz foundation and Times Newspaper in Education (NIE) has organised a ‘No Honking Drive’ initiative.

The drive has attracted youngsters too, as students of Trinity International, Sion (E) and Little Angels High School, King Circle were the latest to join the 'No Honking Drive'.

Participatory sessions were held to educate students about the effects of sound pollution. These sessions were curated by Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz Foundation and saw excited participation by students.

The 'No Honking Drive' has been specially targeting schools as according to research children are most susceptible to excessive sound pollution. The sessions enlightened students with the magnitude of the problem that sound pollution can pose.

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Sound pollution adversely affects students by causing deafness, decrease in concentration on academics, aggression and irritation. Saisudha Narayan, principal of Little Angels High School, ensures that students are educated about noise pollution.

"It is important that we maintain appropriate decibel levels because the eardrums are incredibly sensitive to noise. Over time, we could lose our hearing and in extreme cases of sound pollution, our eardrums could even burst," she said.

Abdulali said, "While it is true that during festivals and parties we see a steep rise in decibel levels, honking is the biggest contributor to sound pollution since it occurs all year round."

You can gauge the extent of noise pollution by the fact that Vinita D'souza, ex-officio secretary of Trinity International, had to make an effort to make herself heard over the incessant honking from a nearby road inspite of being seated in an air-conditioned cabin. "I try to address sound pollution at every opportunity I get. Schools are supposed to be a part of silent zones but often they are the nosiest spots due to honking and traffic jams caused by school buses, parents' vehicles and, rickshaws, taxis and hawkers. I have made parents take a pledge to address sound pollution. For the students, as an incentive, we have introduced some healthy competition by telling them that whichever house keeps noise to the minimum will be rewarded with points. Hopefully thanks to this initiative, we will see some change."

* Read the original story by Toyoja Upadhyay on www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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