DIAL plans VK's night respite

New Delhi: There may just be some respite for residents of Vasant Kunj who have been complaining of massive noise pollution due to aircraft flying overhead to land on the new runway. Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) has proposed a change in use of the new runway during night hours, when it will be used only for take-offs, thereby doing away entirely with the problem of aircraft flying over Vasant Kunj area.
However, India does not have either regulations for aircraft noise limits nor the instruments to measure aircraft noise with. While DIAL will be acquiring a sophisticated aircraft noise monitoring system by June this year, the ministry of environment and forests needs to formulate guidelines for the same. Sources revealed that at present, only the ambient noise is monitored by using normal noise meters.
Speaking to Times City, DGCA chief Naseem Zaidi said it had recently held a meeting on the issue and there were several short term measures that could be taken to alleviate the problem. "There are many aspects to this issue and we are in the process of considering some short term measures that can be taken. However, it will still take a while to draw any conclusions,'' he said.
The issue of noise pollution arose after the new runway was commissioned in November 2008, and entailed aircraft taking an entirely new route to land on the runway. Residents protested strongly against the noise pollution which prompted even chief minister Sheila Dikshit to step in and ask the airport management to take necessary steps to resolve the issue. Some airports abroad close down at night to minimise the problem, that is not a possibility for India at present.
Interestingly, experts say that noise levels over Vasant Kunj are not alarmingly high. According to ICAO standards, 140 decibels is what causes deafness instantaneously. Even at 90 decibels, one needs constant exposure of about 8 hours before one can become deaf. In Vasant Kunj, noise levels have reached a maximum of 90 decibels, if one is standing right below a passing aircraft.
28/01/09 Neha Lalchandani/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009