Kolkata: Students from different schools and colleges are set to join a movement to spread awareness on the need to abstain from unnecessary honking by motorists, especially around educational institutions, hospitals, tourist places and noise-sensitive zones.This mass awareness campaign, which will commence with a cultural event on Wednesday (Nov 18) in the city, will engage around 30,000 students over the next seven months. The initiative has been titled as ‘Stop Honking, Start Caring.’The movement is a brainchild of Bhargab Maitra, a civil engineering professor of IIT-Kharagpur.He is also a traffic safety, transportation planning and urban road management expert, whose traffic and driving guidelines outline that areas like hospitals, educational institutes and places of worship should be designated as no-honking zones.From making reels and digital posters to hitting to the streets with placards, students from several educational institutions, including Ashok Hall Group of Schools, Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary school, G D Birla Centre for Education, Mahadevi Birla Sishu Vihar, Rabindra Bharati University and Future Institute of Engineering, will reach out to motorists to spread awareness against unnecessary honking.Honking accounts for 70% of total noise pollution caused in the city. A recent survey conducted across 10 crossings in the city found one honk every eight second at each of these major zones. On an average, any crossing in the city sees over 10,000 honks a day, according to the experts.Maitra told TOI: “Unnecessary honking causes irritation, distress and anger among other road users. Further, it can distract drivers, potentially increasing the risk of road crashes. An initiative like ‘Stop Honking, Start Caring’ is need of the hour to discourage unnecessary honking, combat noise pollution, protect public health, and promote responsible road behaviour, including respect for silence zones” This campaign is being launched in association with Public Relations Society of India, Kolkata Chapter. There is a target to double the number of students involved in the initiative by Dec next year, according to Soumyajit Mahapatra, chairman of PRSI. “We are organising the movement in association with IIT-Kharagpur,” said Mahapatra. While several schools across the city are already engaged in anti-honking campaigns, a few more are set to join hands with them to prevent the noise menace.Sampa Banik, principal of Ashok Hall Girls’ Higher Secondary School, said they create awareness among students on honking menace during assembly discussions, expert talks and creative activities. “Our students spread the message among parents, relatives and neighbours,” she said. Sonali Sarkar, principal of Mahadevi Birla Shishu Vihar, said, “Honking is a nuisance that causes health hazards.” C A Lucas, principal of G D Birla Centre for Education said, “For no reason, people are found honking and this road behaviour needs to be changed.”
