Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan made a special appearance at the Mehboob Studios in Mumbai to express his support for the 'No Honking Day' initiative to be undertaken by the city police on Monday.

The actor affixed on his car a sparkling white sticker that said 'No Honking Today' as representatives of the police department and scores of NGOs cheered on.

The campaign aims at creating awareness of the social and medical ill effects of honking and noise pollution.

Mumbai Police and other agencies have so far distributed over 100,000 such stickers in English, Hindi and Marathi to vehicles owners, including two-wheelers, four wheelers, taxis and autos.

Mumbai has a whopping 1.5 million vehicles, including 110,000 auto-rickshaws and 55,000 taxis, while the city’s population is approximately 15 million - which means that there is one vehicle for every 10 people.

"As it is, Mumbai suffers from high noise pollution level. Series of tests conducted by us have shown that it is between 65 decibels (lowest) and 95 (highest), both in residential and industrial areas. The limits are 55 for residential and 85 for industrial areas," said Sumaira Abdulali, head of Awaz Foundation, which is part of the 'No Honking Day' initiative.

DCP (Traffic) Harish Baijal informs that the inspiration for the campaign came when he was posted to Kosovo for a year.

"Drivers do not honk there at all. I was amazed and wondered why we could not attempt something like this in Mumbai. Honking is a mindset ... and both pedestrians and drivers need to be disciplined. People seem to enjoy honking, whether driving or waiting at the 470-odd traffic signals in Mumbai," he said.

However, Baijal is relieved that many enlightened Mumbaikars share his views. This was evident from the fact that shortly after the initiative was announced, nearly 50 voluntary organisations, citizens groups, corporate houses, college and school students came forward to support the campaign.

Awareness and punishment

The organizers believe that the campaign will go a long way in educating people of the ill effects of noise pollution and have urged that a noise map of Mumbai be prepared along with governmental efforts to implement noise pollution control measures.

At present, honkers get away with measly fines, but Sumaira suggests that invoking the Environment Protection Act, which makes noise pollution a non-bailable offence and stipulates a jail term of five years and a hefty fine of Rs 100,000.

"The nation is already paying heavily for the high noise pollution levels that we live with. All stress related disorders, heart problems or hearing defects are directly connected to noise pollution," Sumaira said.

She emphasised that the police would be handicapped in their quest to make Mumbai noise-free without support from concerned governmental agencies.

However, DCP Baijal says that the traffic police have already begun cracking down on offenders. "Last weekend, within just three hours, the police registered 25 cases of noise pollution. Monday, all those who honk needlessly shall be penalized," he said.

Meanwhile, FM radio stations have gone all-out to promote the campaign. Bachchan apart, the organisers have urged other celebrities to come forward and express support for the drive.