Abstract

Excessive noise has become one of the major concerns of urban life. Although urbanization, industrialization and motorization are essential for economic development, urban people always long for calm and quiet rural life. For the physical and mental health of the urban people, particularly of the children, it is imperative for the decision makers, leaders, planners and engineers to keep the noise level within the acceptable limits. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the noisiest cities in the world. Despite low level of industrialization and motorization, the average level of noise remains far above the acceptable limits in most of the time. With economic development, the situation is expected to worsen further. Motor vehicle is the principal source of noise pollution in the city. This paper illustrates the level of noise pollution in Dhaka City. The noise level was measured at thirty-seven locations of the city. It is observed that the average level of noise at roadside exceeds the allowable limit by twenty percent at all the locations and at sensitive locations like hospital, schools and parks, the figure is much higher than the acceptable level for those sensitive areas. The level of noise pollution is closely related with traffic volume, particularly with the number of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses as well as auto-rickshaw. Other factors influencing noise pollution include improper maintenance of the vehicles, bad road surface condition, use of high pitch horns and frequent usage of horns. In the paper, several measures are proposed to reduce the level of noise pollution in the city which include increase of public consciousness through education, implementation of monitoring system and construction of noise barriers.