Noise pollution and the religion of silence

These are irritably noisy days, especially when firecrackers are lit during the New Year. Firecrackers have become with noisy people who seek attention. But that is not so for people who seek a peace and quiet environment. Cats and dogs, who are terrified of crackers and creep under beds, will second what this writer has to say.

- 

Sri Lanka is a nation polluted by noise. There was a time when the public address system was 'willingly' used to notify the whole town of an activity that was taking place at a playground or inside a religious institute. There was ego involved in this act of 'showing' what was happening. It was like saying 'this is our religious sermon or cricket big match and let's see who comes up to protest'. And at most occasions, when those who were disturbed came up with complaints, such voices of dissent were silenced by those in power. However times have changed, thanks to updates to the law.

It's good if people having plans of hosting parties and open air concerts know the law. A landmark judgment was made in 2008 by the then Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva who stipulated new conditions related to noise pollution. The judgment empowered the police to entertain complaints by parties who were inconvenienced by activities that generated noise. Police can now entertain such complaints from the public under section 261 of the Penal Code.