S A Shofiee, Sylhet :
Noise pollution has taken an alarming turn in Sylhet city area. Drivers on the city roads arbitrarily use hydraulic horns while a good number of city people play music over loudspeakers irresponsibly, thereby leading the situation to an intolerable level of noise pollution.
Local people have alleged that irregular supervision by the authorities concerned has largely contributed to deterioration of the situation.
“Drivers of most of the buses, trucks, microbuses and three-wheelers were using hydraulic horns creating deafening noise in the city as the authorities concerned were not monitoring the situation aptly,” alleged Shafiqul Islam, a teacher of Nosiba Khatun High School in the city.
Faruk Mia, a shop owner in Sylhet City market told this correspondent, “It became almost impossible to stay in the markets – both for the customers and sellers as owners of CD and DVD shops play music with deafening sound.”
“Humans can tolerate 45 decibel of sound. But the polluters are generating an unbearable level of sound by operating hydraulic horns and playing music in amplifiers,” said Cardiologist Ruhul Amin of Sylhet M.A.G Osmani Medical College Hospital. He said, “Noise pollution has an adverse effect on human body. An intolerable level of the pollution may cause serious health hazards to children, pregnant women and patients suffering from cardiac and respiratory ailments.”
Tk 1.75b power bill lying unpaid
Over Tk 1.75 billion has long been lying unpaid in arrear electricity bill for long in Sylhet Division. The amount includes about Tk 350 million with the different government offices and departments under different ministries.
Although it was over Tk 1.66 billion at the end of fiscal year on June 30 last, the amount rose to Tk 1.75 billion by now, the official sources informed.
The PDB, even on repeated attempts failed to realise the long standing arrears, especially lying with the government departments. They held meetings in different times and requested for clearing the dues several times. There had been no response over the payment,
sources informed, adding, but, for reasons the PDB couldn’t proceed much for disconnecting the lines.
Chief Engineer of PDB, Sylhet zone, Ratan Kumar Biswas said many of the government departments don’t pay the electricity bill just out of negligence although they get annual budget for the purpose. “But, we can’t disconnect their connections as they are public organizations”, he said, adding, “Whereas we can sue the private subscribers for the arrears.”
However, acute shortage of meter readers is also a problem, the official said, there is only five meter readers in the zone. Although a reader is authorized for covering 1250 subscribers every month, but they have to do the job for more and more, the official said.
There are over 315,000 subscribers in the four districts of the zone, having a total demand of 400 mw electricity where as the power generation from the power stations in the region is 800 mw.
