BOOM-BANG IN MAJOR TOWNS
VASCO
* Touched 68.1 decibels between 11 to 12 pm on a ‘normal’ day
* Three decibels above limit of 65 decibels for night hours
* On Diwali, levels exceeded limits between 10 and 12 at night
MAPUSA
* Levels of 54.0 to 65.7 decibels between 6 pm to 10 pm. Limit is 60 decibels
* 56 to 62.9 decibels between 10 pm and 12 midnight, way above limit of 50
MARGAO
* Between 49 to 54 decibels between 10 pm to 12 midnight. Limit is 65 decibels
* On Diwali night, figures ranged between 58 and 68 decibles
PANAJI
* Between 61.0 and 62.5 decibels during the evening hours
* 44.6 to 56.9 decibels during night hours on a normal day
* On Diwali day: between 61.4 and 64.6 during evening hours
--------------------------
PANAJI:
The Goa State Pollution Control Board, which regularly monitors the levels of noise pollution especially during the Diwali seasons, has in its report however said that noise levels in towns of Goa were within permissible limits except at Vasco during the late hours.
The monitoring has also found that noise levels even during the Diwali season were within permissible limits when averaged out.
In the case of Vasco, noise levels touched 68.1 decibels between 11 to 12 in the night on a ‘normal’ day which is more than three decibels above the prescribed limit of 65 decibels for night hours.
However on Diwali day, the noise levels in Vasco exceeded the permissible limits between 10 and 12 in the night which has been blamed on setting alight firecrackers and vehicular movement during late hours.
In Mapusa the sound levels exceeded the permissible limits since the monitoring station is located in a silence zone that has much lower permissible levels.
The station located near the Mapusa Municipality, which is a silence zone, has recorded levels of 54.0 to 65.7 decibels during the evening hours of 6pm to 10 pm when the limit is 60 decibels. During the night hours between 10pm and 12 midnight Mapusa recorded sound levels of 56 to 62.9 decibels way above the limit set at 50.
The other towns of Panaji and Margao all of which were part of the monitoring programme had their noise levels within the limits but not far below the limit. Noise levels ranged between 66.6 to 71.1 during the evening hours between 6pm to 10pm when the limit is 75 decibels and between 49 to 54 decibels between 10pm to 12midnight when the limit is 65 decibels in Margao on an average day. Similar or lower figures were recorded on Diwali night in Margao with figures ranging between 58 and 68 on Diwali Day.
In Panaji, figures ranged between 61.0 and 62.5 decibels during the evening hours on a normal day and 44.6 to 56.9 decibels during the night hours on a normal day.
On a Diwali Day the figures ranged between 61.4 and 64.6 decibels during the evening hours and hovered around 62 decibels during the night hours. As per the Noise Pollution Rules, 2000 if the noise levels exceeds the ambient noise standards by 10 decibels or more any person can make a complaint to the authority.
