Cops permanently silence 100 noise polluting silencers

Cops used a road roller to crush the silencers. Most of the offenders were in the 19-25 age bracket and owned KTM, Pulsar or Royal Enfield, say the police. Pic/Raj Patil

As a part of a special drive to curb noise pollution, the Bandra traffic police, in the past two months, have nabbed over 100 bikers for using loud modified silencers. These silencers were, then, crushed under road rollers. The offenders were fined Rs 1,000 under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Speaking with mid-day Roshan Rajtilak, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Bandra traffic division, said, "As a part of our special ‘Rasta Suraksha' drive, in the past two months, we have fined many bikers who had noisy modified silencers. Most of the offenders were in the 19-25 age bracket and owned KTM, Pulsar or Royal Enfield."

Youngsters install them for fun

"All of them used loud silencers for the sake of fun. We fined them Rs 1,000. If they are found flouting the rule again, then, they will be fined Rs 4,500. These silencers are responsible for noise pollution and are dangerous for health," said Rajtilak.

Most of the violators found with modified silencers were from Mahim Causeway, Carter Road, Bandstand and Juhu beach area.

"We are also acting on complaints on traffic police applications, Twitter handles and other social media platforms,'' said DCP Rajtilak.

Garages warned

"These loud modified silencers are priced between Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000. They can damage hearing and scare pedestrians. We initiated this special drive after we received many complaints. We have also warned the garages to not sell modified silencers. In case of violation, the garage owners will be booked too," Rajtilak added.

Rajtilak further said, "Instead of destroying these silencers, we crushed them under road rollers on Friday morning. We are also looking into accident-prone spots and appealing to the bikers to wear helmets for their safety. To help us nab violators, there are 5,300 CCTV cameras installed across the city."

Affects kids, pregnant women

Speaking with mid-day Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation said, "I am glad that the traffic police have taken action against bikers using loud silencers. I have complained about the same many times in the past. Around 50-decibel level is a limit, but modified silencers go up to over 100 decibels. It can cause loss of hearing in children. It's dangerous for pregnant women and senior citizens. It also badly affects animals and birds."

Rs 4,500
Fine for repeat offenders