After a dip in 2009,Diwali noise levels in Mumbai have gone up by around 10 decibels this year,according to the data collected by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). THE MPCB had carried out ambient noise monitoring during Diwali at 115 locations in the state and Mumbai seems to be noisier than other cities as the metro has registered high decibel levels. MPCB officials said the noise levels that had considerably reduced in 2009 as against 2007 and 2008 had gone up by nearly ten decibels this year. The noise levels measure in Leq dB A were in the range of 65-70 last year at most sites in the state but have shot up by ten decibels this year,says Nitin Shinde,field officer,MPCB. According to Shinde,in Pune the noise levels had approximated between 50 to 60 decibels last year but the average registered on the day of laxmi puja were in the range of 70-75 decibels. According to the data analysis that has been posted on the MPCB website,the noise levels were the highest in Mumbai where the noise of fire crackers bursted on laxmi puja crossed 95 decibels. In Pune too,at places like Swargate and Mandai,the average decibel level was more than 80 on the day of the laxmi puja. A total of 115 locations were monitored in Mumbai,Navi Mumbai,Thane,Kalyan,Dombivali,Ambernath,Ulhasnagar,Nashik,Aurangabad,Kolhapur and Pune. The monitoring began at 6 am on November 5 and continued till 6 am the next day. The process continued till November 7 and the ambient sound levels were recorded continuously for each location before deriving the day and night time average sound levels,Shinde said. He added that the rain on November 5 may have led to the increase in the noise levels. In ,Mumbai the first day of Diwali - laxmi puja saw an average level of 78-80 decibels with places like Malad,Borivali,Sahar,Wadala registering more than 82 decibels. The average decibel level at five places in Nashik too was registered at over 80 decibels while Aurangabad,Kolhapur and Pune averaged between 70 and 80 decibels,according to the latest report. In Pune the average decibel level was registered at Shivajinagar (71.3) Karve Road (71.1),Swargate (75.1),Yeravada (72),Khadki (70),Laxmi Road (75.3),M G Road(72.7),Sarasbaug (69.5),Parvati (69.5),Hadapsar (77.1) and Koregaon Park (73.4).
