BANGALORE: For residents of Rustam Bagh Road near Manipal Hospital, losing sleep on weekdays is inevitable, as a building site on the road regularly offloads construction material after 10pm, in order to beat the evening traffic and other snarls. The site, located opposite the Manipal Hospital emergency ward gate has for the past four months been regularly receiving supplies of sand, stones and other assorted construction material which then get offloaded with much noise till 1 am.
“This is very frustrating, as I cannot sleep or do anything else because of the noise. They have sometimes offloaded stones at 1:30 am,” said Rajesh, a resident of an adjoining building. A residential area, Rustam Bagh is otherwise tranquil and peaceful.
As per the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) rules, police are supposed to act on complaints from residents about noise pollution after 10 pm and stop the source of the noise. While this is practiced with relish by the city police when it comes to shutting down nightclubs, construction sites seems to be in a different league.
City Express has a video of cops from the police station concerned arriving at the site based on a complaint. In the video, it can be seen that the cops arrive, speak to the manager and leave while offloading of sand still continues.
“Let someone come and give us a written complaint. We shall act on it. I am unaware of any such activity in my area,” said Humayun Nagthe, Police Inspector, Airport Police Station. He however accepted that construction could go on, only if the neighbouring residents do not complain.
When asked if the rules permit such works to go on late into the night, he said that it was upto the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to give permission. “The BBMP can allow it only if people do not complain,” he said.
Encouraging residents to come forward and complain about such activities in their areas, AS Sadashivaiah, former Chairman, KSPCB said “They can and must always complain about noise pollution issues. After 10 pm, there must be peace and tranquility,” he said.
“The construction company is also using an already narrow road for storage of their cement machine. When the sand offloaded overflows onto the road, they just extend their barricades and include part of the road as well,” said George, another resident.
The corporator of ward 113, Chandrappa Reddy, was unavailable for comment.