Pressure horns add to woes of ailing patients at Dera Bassi Civil Hospital

Satinder Pal Singh
Dera Bassi, April 22

Despite no-honking signboards installed in front of the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, and the authorities responsible for putting them up clueless on the issue, norms on enforcing silence zones near hospitals, schools and other sites are hardly being implemented in the city.

Even as the Traffic Department expresses its helplessness in the matter, incessant blaring of horns causes hardships to patients at the hospital.

According to the rules laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board, honking is banned in the 100-m radius around hospitals, educational institutions, courts and religious places.

However, the seriousness of the authorities supposed to enforce the laws pertaining to noise pollution can be gauged from the fact that hardly any of them have compiled any data for action against the violators.

Private buses using high-decibel pressure horns while crossing through the hospital disturb ailing patients and the elderly. Similarly, trucks carrying heavy loads pass through the city roads by unnecessarily honking unbearable pressure horns even when there is no immediate requirement of the same.

Coupled with the laxity of the authorities concerned, what makes the problem worse is the fact that the Civil Hospital is just a stone’s throw away from the Dera Bassi bus stand. Traffic jams and honking are frequent here.

Despite boards indicating no-honking zone in front of the Civil Hospital, drivers of private and government buses pay no heed to the sign boards and continue blaring horns while approaching the bus stop and moving away from there.

The drivers do not even spare a thought or empathise with the patients when they pass through the hospital. Despite a set standard of the use of horns outside the hospitals, schools and other silence zones, there is no check on the use of such horns.

When asked, traffic cops claimed to have carried out drives to issue challans to violators at times.

Sukhwinder Kumar, Regional Transport Officer, Mohali, said directions were issued to traffic officials concerned to nab drivers using pressure horns. Traffic policemen had been issuing challans on a regular basis and he would instruct them again to take action against erring drivers found using pressure horns.

What rules say

According to the rules laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board, honking is banned in the 100-m radius around hospitals, educational institutions, courts and religious places.