Catching vehicles by their horns

Smita Deshmukh
Saturday, August 26, 2006  00:22 IST

City architect fights against noise pollution caused by illegal horns.

A leading city-based architect has sounded the horn against vehicles
violating rules on noise pollution.

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules and Motor Vehicles Act specifies the use of
only certain types of horns. Jagdeep Desai has brought to the notice of the
traffic and transport department officials about the illegal multi-toned
"pressure" or "reverse" horns, with very sharp and scratchy noise, in public
goods carriers, tempos, trucks on civic duty and contract buses registered
in Thane and Navi Mumbai. Desai was annoyed by the constant blaring of the
horn in his locality in the Lalubhai road area in Andheri (West).

Activists said the weak law of the land was promoting this brazen violation
of the noise rules - the fine for the offence, as per the Central Motor
Vehicles Rules and Motor Vehicles Act, is a mere Rs500. Many offenders cough
up the paltry sum and continue to commit the offence.

"The question is: how are these vehicles passed by the Regional Transport
Authority (RTA)? And if these (vehicles) were factory-fitted with approved
horns for passing the authority's scrutiny, then why is it that these
(vehicles with the illegal horns fitted after the RTA passes the vehicle)
are being allowed to operate with impunity?" asked Desai.

Desai recently met state Transport Commissioner Shyamsunder Shinde and gave
him a list of operators whose trucks, tankers and buses were fitted with the
these illegal horns. The list names Malpani and Co, Muthuswami Palani,
Innovative Engineers, Bhai Kanhaiyalal and Purshottam Transport, and many,
mostly individually owned vehicles with MH 04 registration, used for civic
duty to clear rubble, debris, garbage, etc.

Desai has also written to the RTA, the operators as well as the principals
of schools hiring such bus operators. However, the response was lukewarm, he
said.

"Not only are such horns being rampantly fitted in more and more vehicles,
there is absolutely no check on the manufacture or sale of such illegal
devices causing unacceptable noise pollution," said an exasperated Desai.
But Shinde said traffic cops were better equipped to deal with the problem
than his department.

"We have a staff of mere 100 people. But still we will take action against
the contract buses/vehicles pointed out to us by Desai. We will direct the
RTA to check the annual renewal of registration in case of offenders," he
said.