29 Aug, 2012, 02.54AM IST, Bhavika Jain & Sumitra Deb Roy,TNN

Enhanced noise pollution ensures Mumbai never sleeps

 MUMBAI: Mumbai is among the noisiest cities in the world, which perhaps explains why this city never sleeps. Quality of life in the city has taken a severe beating in the last five years owing to high levels of pollution — noise, air and water — with noise wreaking the most havoc and putting Mumbaikars at increased risk of disturbed sleep patterns and high blood pressure.

Recent civic reports on Mumbai's environment show that noise levels in residential areas have steadily increased during the day as well as at night. Silence zones in the city are anything but so. Noise levels in 2011-12 were around 63 decibels (db) by day and 78db at night, against the permissible limits of 50db and 40db respectively. In fact, noise levels in Mumbai's 1112 notified silence zones have steadily increased in the last four years. "There is a complete disregard for the noise quotient in the city. Most people aren't even aware of the silence zones around their area. They are also ignorant of the health hazards due to the constant exposure to loud noise," said Rubina Aslam, an environmentalist, who is working to make silence zones more 'silent'.

Neither is the air Mumbaikars breathe, any good. The BMC's reports have highlighted a rise in suspended particulate matter (SPM) at all six sites where air quality monitoring is done. The highest levels were recorded in Maravli (Chembur), where it doubled from 389 in 2007, to 760 in 2011. In the last five years, most sites recorded higher-than-permissible SPM levels. 

 Water was the only saving grace in the city's environmental report card. Fewer samples were found contaminated, gradually decreasing from about 26% in 2009-10, to about 25% in 2010-11 and still further to around 16% in 2011-12. However, experts said the level was still high.

While the civic body's own reports fail to spur it into action, Mumbaikars are paying the price. Several studies have indicated loud noise increases heart attack risk by 12%. Cardiovascular surgeon Dr Pawan Kumar, who consults with Nanavati Hospital, said loud noise causes release of stress hormones that increases blood pressure and heart rate. "Toxic elements can also reduce the oxygen-carrying capacity of red blood cells and that can give rise to chances of suffering an angina (chest pain)," he said. Pollutants in air, especially SPM, cause severe respiratory breathing problems and chronic lung diseases over a period of time. Dean of Bombay Hospital, Dr S Jayaram, said, "Given the current living conditions, it is not surprising how tuberculosis, asthma, cancer and lung diseases are becoming so common," he said. A physician from KEM Hospital added that OPDs treat cases of gastroenteritis, typhoid and hepatitis all year, because of contaminated water. "Ideally, such cases should come only during monsoon, but in Mumbai they occur throughout the year," the doctor said.