Designated to be tranquil, Bengaluru’s silence zones are now emerging as the city’s most noise-polluted spots, surpassing even industrial belts at night, as per Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) data from May.
RVCE Mysore Road saw noise levels of 57.8 dB at night, a 44.5% spike over the legal cap, while NIMHANS zone showed a 29% excess. Ironically, industrial areas like Peenya and Whitefield remained within limits.
A key culprit is phantom honking — honking out of habit or frustration, especially in slow traffic, not for safety. Poor enforcement around sensitive areas worsens the issue.
Even KSPCB’s own SG Halli office, in a residential category, reported a 61.8% rise in night-time noise. Silence zones like RVCE and NIMHANS consistently recorded 61–64 dB, with RVCE hitting a peak of 70.3 dB, against the legal limit of 40 dB.
Prof Ashish Verma from IISc’s Sustainable Transportation Lab criticised Bengaluru’s lack of noise barriers, citing IIT-Bombay as a positive model. He stressed noise’s harmful health effects, especially near hospitals and schools.
Urban design flaws worsen the crisis, with many silence zones located on busy corridors. For example, NIMHANS sits beside a junction and flyover ramp, while RVCE lies on congested Mysore Road.
Rajkumar Dugar of Citizens for Citizens (C4C) emphasized the prevalence of illegal, multi-toned horns and unchecked honking. He called for stricter regulation on horn use, fitting, and manufacturing, expansion of noise monitoring locations, and tighter compliance checks during vehicle registrations.