Students lead the way in campaign against honking

MUMBAI: Students and citizen groups were out on the streets in Colaba on Saturday to convince motorists to honk less.

MUMBAI: Students and citizen groups were out on the streets in Colaba on Saturday to convince motorists to honk less.

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The no-honking drive was to generate awareness about noise pollution and its health hazards. The campaign saw school and college students hold placards requesting drivers to steer clear from unnecessary honking.

Among the groups that took part in the campaign were the Women Graduates Union (WGU), the Colaba Advanced Local Management (CALM), the Awaaz Foundation and My Dream Colaba (MDC).

Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz Foundation, said, “Children spoke to drivers about the need to avoid unnecessary honking, and got a ‘thumbs up’ in response. This is what we want to do. Children create more impact than other people,” adding, “But one drive is not enough. We have to stick to these things. But I am glad the direction we are going in is correct.”

The children who volunteered said that noisy roads are frightening. “We get scared. We have to think twice and watch each side five times in order to cross the road. The vehicles come screaming at us so we just have to run as fast as we can to get to other side of the road,” said Vikas Chauhan, 15, a student of Colaba Municipal School.

Dolly Sagar, 74, secretary, WGU, said, “August 22 is observed as ‘World No-Honking Day’. Mumbai is the noisiest city in India (see box). This is not a thing to be proud of. We should do something about it and hence the initiative.”

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, A ward, was seen urging people to avoid honking. “The stress levels of Mumbaiites are high. They have to travel for long hours and hence they are frustrated. They bring out their frustration by honking unnecessarily. In the process, they frustrate the pedestrians and others too. This should stop,” he said.