S.A Shofiee. Sylhet :
Schoolteacher Moham-mad Jahangir Alam, 45, has been living in Varthokola for almost 10 years. Like others, he is also hit hard by acute water crisis in the area.
“It’s the biggest problem in our area. At least in my case, I can say that I do not get pure drinking water throughout the year. The water supplied by SCC is stinking. I have to buy water for my family of ten members and the tenants.
“The Water Supply and Sewerage Authority in the Sylhet has seemingly turned a blind eye to this perennial problem. I think SCC officials are tremendously corrupt,” he said.
Another resident at Dorghagate, alleged, “The influential real estate businessmen, who illegally buy and sell lands and mint huge money, do not care about modern amenities in the high-rise buildings they construct, leading to sufferings of the locals.”
A survey reveals that not only scarcity of pure water, there are other problems, too. Dilapidated roads, nagging traffic jam, floating people, erratic power supply are among them.
Abdul Rahman Khan, a businessman who lives in Kodomtoly said, “Load-shedding is a major problem in this area. However, the Kodomtoly people are quite satisfied with the law and order situation of the area, except for some trivial matters.
“Narrow streets are another problem in our area. You know commuters of this area have little options, as public buses are scarce here. Rickshaws have turned out to be the only mode of transport to use, but rickshaw fare is so high that people cannot afford to. We need more public buses here,” a young college student Fakrul Islam said.
Other roads remain in dilapidated condition for long for lack of maintenance. The Sylhet City Corporation discharges its duty by merely sending some cleaners to the area. SCC occasionally repairs roads with fresh coat of concrete and bitumen.
Quality of work is poor as usual, as contractors steal money allotted for repairing roads, a resident complains.
Quite a few roads have many potholes making driving difficult, more so during the rainy season, residents said. Drainage system in the three areas is also not good but still in ‘tolerable’ shape, said a CNG-run auto-cab driver Anwar Hossain.
A tea seller at Sylhet Railway Station Abbus Ali pointed his finger at drug peddling. “Drug addiction is a big problem in this area. Drug dealers are politically powerful and rich,” he said.
Growing noise pollution makes city life miserable
The increasing noise pollution in the Sylhet is causing serious health hazards to the city dwellers including hypertension, high stress levels and even fatal complications in heart patients.
Noise pollution in Sylhet exceeded its acceptable limits two and half decades ago, a study said.
Apart from adding to sufferings to the patients in hospitals, the deafening noise interrupts the learners in schools, colleges and universities.
“More and more people are developing high blood pressure and hypertension,” said Dr Aminur Rahman, a cardiac specialist.
According to a study carried out by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), sound level in the city maintained a tolerable limit at 45 decibels back in 1980, which soared to 55 in 1990, 75 in 2000 and to 110 decibels in 2013. On an average, an alarming 110 decibels sound is created in Dhaka city everyday.
The study also said high pitch sound of hydraulic horns of buses, trucks, private cars and even motorcycles, cassette players in the malls and buses, loud speakers and roadside mills and factories are severely affecting the commuters and pedestrians in the capital.
Moreover, generator, old tempo, brick-breaking machines, sirens of ambulance and high pitch sound of welding machine are making the noise pollution worse, according to the report.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the safe limit of sound is 45 decibels. Sound over 65 decibels can cause heart diseases and over 90 decibels of sound leads to ulcer, hearing problems and affects the nerve system and that of over 120 decibels creates pain in the ears and impairs hearing ability.
Renowned Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant prof Dr N I Khan said loud sound induces release of adrenal hormone that leads to impatience and stress. This also causes various physiological impacts like anger, anxiety, frustration, tension and depression. People may suffer from indigestion and peptic ulcer due to noise pollution.
“Noise pollution also affects heart, blood circulation, food canal and stomach,’ he added.
People of different ages also suffer from various diseases because of noise pollution in Sylhet city. Sometimes intolerable sound pollution may cause death in ischemic heart patients,
Dr Shamimur Rahman said.Though the Department of Environment has set the limits of noise exposure, vehicles in the city are continuously crossing those limits.
It has been observed that the average noise level at roadside exceeds the tolerable limit by 40 percent at all the locations and at sensitive places like hospitals, schools, universities and parks.
The pollution is much higher than the acceptable level for those sensitive areas, according to Department of Environment.
ENT specialist SOMCH, said, “Sound pollution creates many primary and secondary health problems. High pitch sound primarily creates acoustic trauma, which leads to damage in the inner ear nerve and may cause hearing loss.”
“Noise pollution can also cause breathing problem, headache, nausea, depression and other complications,” he added.
Dr. Abdur Rob former Professor DU said, “Noise pollution in Sylhet is increasing day by day due to growing number of vehicles to meet the growing demand of transport for the ever-growing population.”
“Our enforcement team often visits different areas and fines vehicle owners for violating the noise pollution rule act,” he added.
“Laws alone are not enough to prevent noise pollution. It is more important to enforce the law to put an end to the pollution,” Rob added.
Schoolteacher Moham-mad Jahangir Alam, 45, has been living in Varthokola for almost 10 years. Like others, he is also hit hard by acute water crisis in the area.
“It’s the biggest problem in our area. At least in my case, I can say that I do not get pure drinking water throughout the year. The water supplied by SCC is stinking. I have to buy water for my family of ten members and the tenants.
“The Water Supply and Sewerage Authority in the Sylhet has seemingly turned a blind eye to this perennial problem. I think SCC officials are tremendously corrupt,” he said.
Another resident at Dorghagate, alleged, “The influential real estate businessmen, who illegally buy and sell lands and mint huge money, do not care about modern amenities in the high-rise buildings they construct, leading to sufferings of the locals.”
A survey reveals that not only scarcity of pure water, there are other problems, too. Dilapidated roads, nagging traffic jam, floating people, erratic power supply are among them.
Abdul Rahman Khan, a businessman who lives in Kodomtoly said, “Load-shedding is a major problem in this area. However, the Kodomtoly people are quite satisfied with the law and order situation of the area, except for some trivial matters.
“Narrow streets are another problem in our area. You know commuters of this area have little options, as public buses are scarce here. Rickshaws have turned out to be the only mode of transport to use, but rickshaw fare is so high that people cannot afford to. We need more public buses here,” a young college student Fakrul Islam said.
Other roads remain in dilapidated condition for long for lack of maintenance. The Sylhet City Corporation discharges its duty by merely sending some cleaners to the area. SCC occasionally repairs roads with fresh coat of concrete and bitumen.
Quality of work is poor as usual, as contractors steal money allotted for repairing roads, a resident complains.
Quite a few roads have many potholes making driving difficult, more so during the rainy season, residents said. Drainage system in the three areas is also not good but still in ‘tolerable’ shape, said a CNG-run auto-cab driver Anwar Hossain.
A tea seller at Sylhet Railway Station Abbus Ali pointed his finger at drug peddling. “Drug addiction is a big problem in this area. Drug dealers are politically powerful and rich,” he said.
Growing noise pollution makes city life miserable
The increasing noise pollution in the Sylhet is causing serious health hazards to the city dwellers including hypertension, high stress levels and even fatal complications in heart patients.
Noise pollution in Sylhet exceeded its acceptable limits two and half decades ago, a study said.
Apart from adding to sufferings to the patients in hospitals, the deafening noise interrupts the learners in schools, colleges and universities.
“More and more people are developing high blood pressure and hypertension,” said Dr Aminur Rahman, a cardiac specialist.
According to a study carried out by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), sound level in the city maintained a tolerable limit at 45 decibels back in 1980, which soared to 55 in 1990, 75 in 2000 and to 110 decibels in 2013. On an average, an alarming 110 decibels sound is created in Dhaka city everyday.
The study also said high pitch sound of hydraulic horns of buses, trucks, private cars and even motorcycles, cassette players in the malls and buses, loud speakers and roadside mills and factories are severely affecting the commuters and pedestrians in the capital.
Moreover, generator, old tempo, brick-breaking machines, sirens of ambulance and high pitch sound of welding machine are making the noise pollution worse, according to the report.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the safe limit of sound is 45 decibels. Sound over 65 decibels can cause heart diseases and over 90 decibels of sound leads to ulcer, hearing problems and affects the nerve system and that of over 120 decibels creates pain in the ears and impairs hearing ability.
Renowned Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant prof Dr N I Khan said loud sound induces release of adrenal hormone that leads to impatience and stress. This also causes various physiological impacts like anger, anxiety, frustration, tension and depression. People may suffer from indigestion and peptic ulcer due to noise pollution.
“Noise pollution also affects heart, blood circulation, food canal and stomach,’ he added.
People of different ages also suffer from various diseases because of noise pollution in Sylhet city. Sometimes intolerable sound pollution may cause death in ischemic heart patients,
Dr Shamimur Rahman said.Though the Department of Environment has set the limits of noise exposure, vehicles in the city are continuously crossing those limits.
It has been observed that the average noise level at roadside exceeds the tolerable limit by 40 percent at all the locations and at sensitive places like hospitals, schools, universities and parks.
The pollution is much higher than the acceptable level for those sensitive areas, according to Department of Environment.
ENT specialist SOMCH, said, “Sound pollution creates many primary and secondary health problems. High pitch sound primarily creates acoustic trauma, which leads to damage in the inner ear nerve and may cause hearing loss.”
“Noise pollution can also cause breathing problem, headache, nausea, depression and other complications,” he added.
Dr. Abdur Rob former Professor DU said, “Noise pollution in Sylhet is increasing day by day due to growing number of vehicles to meet the growing demand of transport for the ever-growing population.”
“Our enforcement team often visits different areas and fines vehicle owners for violating the noise pollution rule act,” he added.
“Laws alone are not enough to prevent noise pollution. It is more important to enforce the law to put an end to the pollution,” Rob added.
