CHENNAI: Twenty years ago, S Kalpana recalls waking every morning to MS Subbulakshmi's serenading voice wafting over the palm fronds at the Mylapore temple, the church bells of Santhome, the crashing of the waves on the beach, and the mooing of cows. "Even if you were 2 km away you could hear the sounds, and when the sparrows chirped there was no more excuse to stay in bed," says the former school teacher. "Now all I hear is the noise of air horns and buses at 6 in the morning. The gentle tinkle of the milkman's cycle has been replaced with the noise of mopeds and motorbikes. Autorickshaws honking outside homes of even pre-KG children is a sad comment on the growth. Earlier they either walked or went in cycle rickshaws," adds the 58-year old.
"It was a genteel suburb, and you carried every sound with you in your growing-up years. Now, whenever I visit, I cannot find a single sound that was so much a part of our life. Mylapore has lost its distinct voice in the melting pot of vehicular noise, blaring horns and loud eateries" says 32-year-old Harini Kumar, now of New Jersey.
The old world charm has gone out, say residents in T Nagar, Velachery, Indira Nagar, Adyar and Trust Puram, Kodambakkam that are fast turning into zones with worrisome decibel levels. Chennai, considered one that rose early and bedded down early, is now one where the noise levels are high, both during the day and at night.
The first-ever comprehensive noise pollution survey undertaken in May last year by the Central Pollution Control Board, the results of which have now been released to TOI, has seen the decibels levels way above prescribed standards across all categories industrial, commercial, residential and silent zones. All the 12 residential areas monitored exceeded limits, Vijaya Nagar in Velachery, Trust Puram in Kodambakkam, Mylapore, Indira Nagar, Adyar, Tiruvanmiyur are some of the noisy hubs. (see box for details) "It is as though we have moved to an altogether different city," says Kalpana. T Nagar used to be the ultimate destination, after Mylapore in the 70s and buying or renting out a property in Trust Puram was the next best option of many migrating from small towns, says S Chandran. "Now most of us rue the decision, since the locality has become noisy, especially with neighbourhood temples blaring out songs on the PA system at all hours of the day," he adds.
V Balaji used to ride home to Tiruvanmiyur from Mylapore and the entire neighbourhood used to joke they could keep a tab on his arrival. "He had a Bullet motorcycle, and with residences splayed conformably apart, we could hear the distinct beat of his bike from more than a kilometre and half. Not many people had bikes in those days," says R Srinivasan a corporate honcho. "Until 1989, we could hear the sound of the waves in the morning, and the area was free of air and noise pollution," says Balaji, an architect, and member of CAG, an NGO. "Now, the entire Valmiki Nagar has become noisier, " he adds. The unending stream of vehicles, specially those using the interior roads to avod the traffic snarls on main roads, has changed the mosaic of Indira Nagar and Gandhi Nagar, say residents.
PK Hariharan, an architect who has lived in Indira Nagar for the last 30 years, says that barring an occasional bus or a stray dog, the ares used to be quiet until 15 years ago. "All you heard was the tinkling of your neighbour's telephone. Now, you can hardly hear your own, with the music systems blaring from cars, and constant honking of horns," he adds.
The rising decibel levels and the rise in vehicular population are also a result of poor city planning, says Balaji. "Attrition (residential areas changing character into semi-commercial areas) is happening in every locality," he adds. Citing the example of Tiruvanmiyur, Kasturiba Nagar, Indira Nagar and T Nagar, Balaji says initially the encroachment of commercial establishments was insidious. "Although a Development Control Rule has been in place, which clearly demarcates type of activity allowed, such as industrial for Ambattur, and Valmiki Nagar as residential, the characters of the residential areas have been changing over decades. Although no official permit was given, violations were there, and with lack of monitoring, once the building came up, it was there to stay, and the mixed-residential concept (where residences and small trade activities co-exist) came into effect when the first Master Plan was drafted," he adds.
Arresting further loss of the city's character is possible if the vision plan of the CMDA's Master Plan formulates a development guideline,' adds Balaji. "The CMDA should prepare an extensive documentation of what is existing, not merely plot number and ownership, but also data on infrastructure, sewerage lines, EB boxes, transport services and volume. The data would help avoid development of drive-through roads morphing into commercial sloughs in areas meant for people to retire quietly. Secondly, vision plans for future should factor in quality of life (such as schools, banks, parks and public spaces) and population as the basic premise," he adds.
