Despite new stricter regulations to curb noise pollution, all nine designated silent zones in Dhaka city remain exposed to relentless honking from all types of vehicles, with many using high-decibel hydraulic horns.

Last year, the interim government introduced the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules, 2025, expanding the scope of enforcement and regulations on import, production, storage and sale of illegal horns.

The new rules allow traffic police officers of the rank of sergeant and above to impose on-the-spot fines. Under the previous 2006 rules, only magistrates held such enforcement powers.

How sound pollution affects your children

The use of prohibited horns can result in up to three months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to Tk 10,000, or both. The rules impose heavier penalties on those who manufacture, import or market prohibited horns, with offenders facing up to two years’ imprisonment, or a fine of up to Tk 2 lakh, or both.

Yet, nothing appears to have changed.

Even in the designated silent zones, relentless noise has become part of daily life for commuters and residents.

For example, the sound of horns rarely stops outside Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, though a three-kilometre area surrounding the airport was declared a silent zone by the Department of Environment (DoE) in December 2024.

The DoE also designated the Secretariat and its surrounding area, Agargaon, and areas around the parliament and the Prime Minister’s Office as silent zones, while Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) declared Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Niketan as silent zones in September 2025.

Research shows that at least four of the city’s silent zones have noise levels far above the permissible limits.

In March 2022, a 10-member team from the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) at Stamford University Bangladesh found that the combined average noise level in four silent zones -- the Secretariat, Agargaon, and areas around the parliament and the PMO -- was 97.63 decibels, nearly double the permissible limit of 50 decibels.

The Secretariat averaged 100.17 decibels, with noise peaking at 127 decibels. The parliament area averaged 99.35 decibels, while Agargaon -- the quietest of the four areas -- averaged 78.11 decibels.

In 2024, CAPS carried out a follow-up assessment of the newly designated silent zone around Dhaka airport. It collected data over 15 days, monitoring the area for 13 hours daily before the declaration, immediately after it and two months later.

At the airport’s main entrance, the average noise level was 89.19 decibels before the area’s designation as a silent zone. It rose to 90.03 decibels immediately afterwards and stood at 89.68 decibels two months later.

Another study by seven researchers from BRAC University, McGill University, Imperial College London and the University of Massachusetts Amherst found widespread excessive noise exposure across Dhaka.

The researchers developed the first citywide model of environmental sound exposure in Dhaka based on data collected in 2023 from 67 locations across the capital.

The study, published this month in the international peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment, said that no residential area or designated silent zone met Bangladesh’s nighttime noise standards ranging from 40 to 60 decibels between 9:00pm and 6:00am.

It estimated that nearly all residents of Dhaka city were exposed to outdoor sound levels exceeding the World Health Organization’s traffic-noise guidelines, while around 900,000 were exposed to levels above 70 decibels.

According to the WHO, average road traffic noise should remain below 53 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.

For residents and commuters across the capital, there seems to be no respite from relentless noise.

Hamidur Rahman, who runs a shop near Dhaka airport, said loud horns have become part of his everyday life.

“High-decibel horns cause severe discomfort. The noise hurts my ears and often leaves me feeling dizzy. Though authorities occasionally remove hydraulic horns from vehicles and fine drivers, the problem resurfaces within days,” he said.

Sumaiya Akter, a resident of the airport area, said her child becomes frightened whenever vehicles blare loud horns.

“He complains of headaches quite often... The authorities should take tougher action because the rules for this silent zone are clearly not being followed.”

According to health experts, prolonged exposure to noise can cause hearing impairment, sleep disturbance, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment in children.

They say children and people with pre-existing health conditions face the greatest health risks.

Prof Md Abu Hanif, former director of the National Institute of ENT, said loud hydraulic horns can permanently damage delicate hearing cells in children’s ears.

“Continuous exposure to loud traffic noise can delay learning and even cause permanent hearing loss,” he noted.

When asked about the enforcement of the new rules, Md Anisur Rahman, additional police commissioner (Traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said it is challenging to manually identify offending vehicles.

He further said the DMP is exploring technology that can automatically identify vehicles producing excessive noise.

Anisur said drivers often reinstall hydraulic horns after police remove them during drives, making constant monitoring necessary.

Many traffic police officers suffer hearing loss and complain of chronic headaches as they spend hours in high-noise environments, he said, adding that the DMP is considering buying ear protection devices for traffic police personnel.

Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, a professor of environmental science at Stamford University Bangladesh, said enforcement alone would not solve the problem.

An ineffective manual traffic system makes drivers impatient and encourages constant honking, he said.

“In the end, those making the noise also become its victims. We must all cooperate from our own positions, particularly teachers and students, to raise awareness.”

He suggested nationwide awareness campaigns involving schools and government institutions, alongside stricter enforcement.