Noise is a way of life in Rawalpindi

We live in a noisy city. It doesn’t sound like an overstatement. Lurid music, blaring traffic, firecrackers, children yelling, the roaring bikes, deafening loudspeakers, bricks grinding against each other at a construction site, all testify this claim. The concerned authorities are not at all bothered about restricting the use of firecrackers at weddings, loudspeakers, and vehicle honking.

“Every day whenever I try to sleep to refresh myself, I am woken up not by the alarm clock, but by the filmi tunes from the cars or honking of the horns in my street,” says Razi Haider.

“Noise gives city residents a specific colour, the picture of being a Pindiite. People of this city breathe, eat, smell and maybe, even love the noise that exemplifies the spectacle of the Rawalpindi city today. This is termed as noise pollution and is human-created,” says Sajjad Ali.

“After having lunch I went to sleep for a short rest but the noise of neighbourhood construction workers unloading bricks from a truck that had just pulled in woke me up. Manual labourers make all the noise as they please and they don’t consider that it is an odd time or maybe there are students studying or aged patients needing a breather,” says Imdad Hussain.

Nazakat Ali says: “Given the construction boom we see all around, the drone of concrete mixers and the sound of bore wells all through the day and night is guaranteed to drive us insane. Construction work takes place around the clock, and since its noise can never be free from its environs such as traffic, shouts, yelling instructions, music, etc. so, they have become one of the more annoying noise pollutants for us today.”

“Excessive noise pollution has proven to lead to high blood pressure, low concentration, bad temperament and as a result, increased chances of confrontations; behaviours that can be observed in the streets of the city.”

“The present generation growing up in this city has perhaps gotten used to the noise and it is romanticized at the mod market shops to entertain their customers. If you go to a bridal reception where there is a music band playing, just try carrying on an important conversation with friends and relatives and you will find it will be a futile exercise in the cacophony around you,” says Hasan Askari.

“People remain blissfully ignorant of the damage they inflict upon themselves. What is noise to us is just a normal sound to some,” says Lubaba Abbas.

Sarwat Zahra says: “Even on the city roads, there is no lack of noise, especially when there is a traffic accident as there are some smart drivers who think that by feverishly honking, the motorists in front will instantly move.”