I have written on this subject before, but when it was reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs had to step in so this issue could be taken care of it became evident very quickly that these noise offenders just do not care about others. If the Ministry of Home Affairs has to check up on the volume coming from certain establishments so as to ensure the majority of citizens like me, Joyce Jonas, Petambar, Roshan Khan etc can live in peace, then there is something seriously wrong with the law.

The residents surrounding these establishments would have brought the matter to the attention of these offenders and possibly out of courtesy to patrons of the establishment who would have taken the necessary steps to curb the noise. However, this rude and unseemly behaviour was not curtailed by pleas of the neighbours or even by demands of the local police. I just cannot begin to imagine the arrogance of a senior police officer in “G” Division slamming down his telephone on me recently while reporting a noise nuisance matter, totally disregard to the needs of others for selfish reasons.

The law on noise nuisance, Section 174 (a) specifically states that the noise must be loud, continuous and to the annoyance of a resident in the area. This noise is also seriously affecting our children who cannot study, because of the impact on them. Gradual hearing loss affects people of all ages and is the third most common long term (chronic) health problem caused by noise.

The moral pandemonium will even get worse. The fabric of principles, morals will turn to dust if this lawlessness is allowed to continue. We must keep on fighting for the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of our property.