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Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) and its surrounding 3.0 kilometres area have been declared a 'silent zone'.
To this end, a programme to stop honking has been inaugurated from Tuesday.
Adviser to the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hasan inaugurated the event at the head office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh at Kurmitola, in the city.
“Initially, people will be conscious of the necessity to change their long-standing habit of honking. Then the law will be strictly enforced,” she said.
“At first, initiatives will be taken to stop noise pollution in important areas, then the entire Dhaka city and gradually in the divisional cities as well.”
She said the ban on honking will be imposed as a condition of license renewal.
The adviser mentioned that if anyone breaks the law for the first time, he or she will be fined Tk 500. After examining the overall situation during October and November, the penalty will be enforced from December.
Noise pollution is a major threat to public health. It can cause heart disease, high blood pressure and neuropathy, said Rizwana Hasan.
People's hearing power is decreasing due to the honking of vehicles in the capital. So, the 'Silent Area' is an important programme to reduce noise pollution, she also said.
Thanking those who participated in making this initiative a success, she expressed hope that such programmes will be implemented in other parts of the country.
Nasrin Jahan, secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, Tapan Kumar Biswas, additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Abdul Hamid, director general of the Department of Environment, Air Vice Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, chairman of the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority were present at the programme.
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