HC orders nationwide pneumatic horn ban

The High Court yesterday directed the government to stop the use of pneumatic horns in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.

The authorities have to form a surveillance team to keep sound pollution within limit at different places including Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Officers' Club area in the capital, set by the relevant environmental laws and rules, it said. 

Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah came up with the orders, responding to a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The inspector general of police, deputy inspector general (highway), joint commissioner (traffic) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, and the BRTC Chairman have to comply with the HC directives, said Manzill Murshid, lawyer of the petitioner.

The court fixed December 13 for the next hearing on the matter.

On October 8, the HC directed vehicle owners and drivers all over the country to handover pneumatic horns to the police stations concerned within 15 days.

It also asked the police to destroy the pneumatic horns soon after receiving them.

The HRPB had submitted the petition challenging the legality of the use of pneumatic horns and seeking necessary orders to stop sound pollution in Dhaka city.

Manzill Murshid at the time told the court that trucks and buses had been using such horns and other devices creating alarming noise and polluting environment. Even, people in residential areas like Dhanmondi, Motijheel, Gulshan and Banani cannot sleep at night due to tremendous sounds of the horns.

As per the Motor Vehicles Rules 1940, every transport vehicle shall be fitted with a bulb horn, he added.