Hemant Maheshwari, a 59-year-old businessman, is awakened every 10 minutes in the night by aircraft flying over his Vasant Kunj house. Almost every morning, he wakes up groggy and irritable. The roar of aircraft leaving and coming to the Indira Gandhi International Airport tells on their lives so much that the resident welfare associations of Bijwasan, Vasant Kunj, Samalkha and Pushpanjali got together with NGO Chetna and filed a petition with the NGT. These residential areas fall directly under the take-off and landing paths of aircraft and the thunderous sound often exceeds permissible limits. According to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre at Vasant Kunj, the boom is in the magnitude of 75-94 decibels, which is "clearly beyond the stipulated standards laid down in the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000". The airport operator, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), argues, however, that the IGIA has incorporated all measures to reduce aircraft noise. Among the initiatives adopted at IGIA are "restrictions on the operation of older aircraft during night hours, use of engine run-ups, application of reverse thrust and use of auxiliary power unit at the airport", says an executive. In April this year, NGT asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation why a night-time curfew could not be imposed at IGIA as is done in 275 out of 555 airports in the world. "We have proposed multiple measures to both NGT and DGCA, like using Noise barriers and night curfews, but the airport authorities are yet to act on it," said Anil Sood, president, Chetna. The airport pleaded that 20 international flights operated between 10pm and 6am. Residents have tried to get politicians to help.
28/06/16 Anvit Srivastava & Jasjeev Gandhiok/Times of India
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28/06/16 Anvit Srivastava & Jasjeev Gandhiok/Times of India
