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PESHAWAR, Nov 30 (APP):Once fondly celebrated as the City of Flowers, Peshawar today finds itself drowning under an avalanche of noise as its streets echoing with the shrill, jarring cries of pressure horns.
What began as a nuisance has grown into a full-fledged public health concern, leaving residents irritated, anxious, and increasingly fearful for their wellbeing amid noise pollution by tsunami of rickshaws and other vehicles.
For thousands of Peshawarties navigating the city’s daily traffic gridlocks particularly during morning and evening rush hours, the piercing blasts of pressure horns from buses, wagons, rickshaws, and trucks have become an unwanted soundtrack to city life.
Peshawar where visitors once enjoyed fragrances of Gul e Dawoodi these days are now confronted to air pollution and presure horns.
Despite multiple complaints and existing rules, the implementation of laws regulating pressure horns remains weak across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“My hearing was affected for hours” Riaz Khan (63) resident of Nowshera, still remembers the pain he felt during a recent visit to Peshawar carrying a documented history of nearly 3000 years.
“A truck’s loud pressure horn hit me like a shockwave. My ears hurt instantly,” he recalled. “The irritation and pain were so bad that I ended up at an ENT specialist. Who is responsible for this suffering?”
Riaz’s story is becoming increasingly common, with ENT clinics in the city reporting a rise in noise-related complaints.
Dr. Aziz Khan, ENT specialist at local hospital, explains that continuous exposure to pressure horns by trucks and containers besides pick ups can affect a person hearing.
“Extended use or exposure to loud pressure horns can cause permanent hearing loss, as the inner ear’s delicate structures are damaged,” he said.
“Sudden blasts also trigger physical discomfort, stress, and anxiety particularly among traffic police, shopkeepers, vendors, and regular commuters.”
Medical studies globally and locally connect chronic noise pollution with a wide range of health issues such as elevated blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, sleep disturbances, gastric problems, decreased alertness, depression, and even sexual dysfunction.
As unplanned and rapid urbanisation continues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa especially in Peshawar where noise pollution have skyrocketed.
Residential and commercial zones have blurred into each other, while workshops, marketplaces, and transport hubs often surround schools and hospitals.spaces where silence is crucial.
Roaring motorbikes, unmuffled rickshaws, and overloaded public transport vehicles add further layers to this soundscape, harming hearing and mental health.
Experts argued that KP Govt must follow the example of developed provinces by enforcing environmental laws more rigorously.
“Protecting schoolchildren, patients, and daily commuters from noise pollution and presure horns should be a priority of KP Govt,” Dr Shafiqur Rehman environmental health specialist and former Chairman Environmental Science Department at UoP emphasized.
“We need a comprehensive policy based on prevention, precaution, and strict fines for violators involved in presure horns.”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) KP officials said they are attempting to curb the problem. Under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983, the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) set a limit of 85 dB(A) for motor vehicle noise at 7.5 meters.
Campaigns have been launched to penalize noisy vehicles particularly rickshaws though officials admit challenges remain.
Globally, over 120 million people suffer disabling hearing loss due to noise pollution, EPA offical informed.
Dr. Naeem, former chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Peshawar, warned that KP is heading toward an environmental and public health problems.
“With the global urban population expected to hit 68% by 2050 and Pakistan’s population growing nearly 2% annually, noise pollution will become increasingly unmanageable unless addressed now,” he said.
Experts recommend planting green belts and conopy trees to act as natural sound absorbers which is an approach that could soften Peshawar’s growing noise burden while improving air quality.
They also stressed the importance of public awareness through electronic media. Social media campaigns, community outreach, and coordination between environmental and civic authorities could play a vital role in changing public attitudes toward pressure horn use.
For now, though, the people of Peshawar continue to navigate streets where the constant screaming of horns overshadows the city’s historic charm and where silence, once taken for granted, is becoming a rare luxury.