By Atul Rawat
Over the years Dehradun was held in a bit of a romantic memory in the hearts and minds of the generation which grew up here in the ‘70s and the ‘80s. A quaint little town in which life moved at a slow pace amidst flora and fauna of the Doon Valley. The iconic ‘Clock Tower, Kumar Sweets, Cinema halls – Prabhat, Natraj, Odeon, etc., bakeries and Moti Mahal Restaurant are some of the memories of that childhood. Rajpur Road beyond the Dilaram Chowk was seldom ventured as it was all forested. It was such a pleasure to stroll on the Rajpur Road and take the Jhari Pani Trek to Mussoorie particularly during a snowfall.
Alas, all that seems to be a distant dream. What was once known for its calm roads, litchi orchards, streams, and pleasant climate is increasingly struggling under the pressure of unchecked urbanisation. Much like the stories of most of the cities in the country Dehradun, too, is undergoing rapid urbanisation, and, along with the cement and the mortar those distant memories have faded in the dust and noise of the bustling capital city that Dehradun has become.
The world is faced with several challenges and disasters – climate change being the most important and all prevalent. Much of the woes that humanity faces today is attributed to climate change. However, there is another challenge that affects the citizens on a daily basis and that is Urbanisation Disaster. All cities are faced with several challenges such a garbage management, traffic management, sewage treatment, drinking water, power management, air quality, etc. However, there is one which we overlook most of the time is the noise pollution.
Noise pollution in Dehradun has quietly become one of the city’s most serious urban health problems. What was once known as a calm hill-valley town now routinely records sound levels comparable to industrial zones, especially at major traffic intersections.
For context, Central Pollution Control Board norms prescribe – 55 dB daytime / 45 dB nighttime for residential areas, 65 dB daytime / 55 dB nighttime for commercial areas, 50 dB daytime / 40 dB nighttime for silence zones such as hospitals and schools.
Yet we find that the citizens continue to be subjected to much higher doses of noise. Primarily the noise can be attributed to traffic noise, honking, use of loudspeakers, construction noise and, of late, loud music being played by pubs and restaurants late into the night with utter disregard to the citizens. The late night culture is most prevalent over the weekends when we have a large influx of tourists that come to the city. Quiet places where the locals had opened homestays have become hotspots for loud noise much to the disdain of the locals.
Increased noise levels create an atmosphere where from a small child to an aged individual is affected. Typically, loud noise is the cause of stress and insomnia, amongst many other aliments.
The social atmosphere of the city has also changed. Residents increasingly describe daily travel in Dehradun as mentally exhausting because of nonstop honking, jams, dug-up roads, and chaotic driving behaviour.
Over time the deeper concern is that noise pollution in Dehradun is no longer merely an inconvenience — it is becoming a public health and quality-of-life issue tied directly to unplanned urbanisation, rising traffic density, and weakening civic discipline.
How much is enough is the moot question. There is a need for all citizens to introspect and work towards finding a balanced mix in which we have harmony and a balanced growth to ensure that our future is not cast away in the noise tsunami.
(The author blogs at NotesfromDehradun@AtulRawat)
