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TIME and again persons have brought to the attention of all concerned through your column the situation of noise nuisance. This is a situation which affects humans and animals alike. I would like to highlight a regular night-time activity (most nights) inclusive of the holidays in First Avenue, Bartica. From late afternoon to early the next morning about 3.00 a.m., which is approximately 11 hours of non-stop noise coming from the different places of entertainment.
In addition to the noise emanating from the nightspots, there is an additional dimension – the cars with the alarms on. These vehicle owners parked their vehicles on the parapet/shoulder of the road. According to the police, persons have the right to put on the alarms for security purpose on their vehicles. The vibrations from the” boom boom” boxes cause the alarms to go off repeatedly and persons living around the area have to remain in their homes and contend with the noise for there is allegedly no re-dress.
The Bartica Police Station is within hearing of the noise makers. The situation is of such that if anyone calls the police they allege that they cannot hear unless someone is next to the phone. It does not stop there. The police are claiming that they do not issue the permission for the music to be played. The magistrate does that.
I would like the authorities concerned to focus on the following:
1. Why is permission being given to the same person weekly and for most nights to play music loudly? What role the police play in this travesty? I have never heard of a case where the police had taken a perpetrator of noise nuisance to court. Is this outside of the police’s mandate?
2. Why are persons allowed to drink alcohol and drive? All the police have to do is stand up by the parked vehicles and take action as the revellers arrive for their vehicles.
3. What happened to the breathalysers the police must use on drink & drive offenders?
4. There is a saying: “the children are our future”; will deafness be a part of their future?
5. There are private vehicles /taxis with boom-boom boxes in their vehicles playing loud music while driving on the road, or those who park on the roadside drinking and playing their music loudly.
6. Why are persons not charged or brought before the courts?
7. Noise nuisance is becoming a public health issue, since half of our population are either deaf, or will become so soon.
Taking the perpetrators to court privately is not the ideal thing to do since it takes forever for these matters to be brought up in court, much less to have a conviction.
We the members of GUYWID condemn this continuous noise pollution which is damaging to the health of our citizens and animals.
In addition to the noise emanating from the nightspots, there is an additional dimension – the cars with the alarms on. These vehicle owners parked their vehicles on the parapet/shoulder of the road. According to the police, persons have the right to put on the alarms for security purpose on their vehicles. The vibrations from the” boom boom” boxes cause the alarms to go off repeatedly and persons living around the area have to remain in their homes and contend with the noise for there is allegedly no re-dress.
The Bartica Police Station is within hearing of the noise makers. The situation is of such that if anyone calls the police they allege that they cannot hear unless someone is next to the phone. It does not stop there. The police are claiming that they do not issue the permission for the music to be played. The magistrate does that.
I would like the authorities concerned to focus on the following:
1. Why is permission being given to the same person weekly and for most nights to play music loudly? What role the police play in this travesty? I have never heard of a case where the police had taken a perpetrator of noise nuisance to court. Is this outside of the police’s mandate?
2. Why are persons allowed to drink alcohol and drive? All the police have to do is stand up by the parked vehicles and take action as the revellers arrive for their vehicles.
3. What happened to the breathalysers the police must use on drink & drive offenders?
4. There is a saying: “the children are our future”; will deafness be a part of their future?
5. There are private vehicles /taxis with boom-boom boxes in their vehicles playing loud music while driving on the road, or those who park on the roadside drinking and playing their music loudly.
6. Why are persons not charged or brought before the courts?
7. Noise nuisance is becoming a public health issue, since half of our population are either deaf, or will become so soon.
Taking the perpetrators to court privately is not the ideal thing to do since it takes forever for these matters to be brought up in court, much less to have a conviction.
We the members of GUYWID condemn this continuous noise pollution which is damaging to the health of our citizens and animals.
