A 'helpless' Don't Honk sign in front of Birdem hospital.Photo: STAR

It was 10:30pm on Monday. The Shahbagh intersection seemed like a sea of vehicles. Hundreds of tattered city buses, private cars, covered vans, three-wheelers and taxis from all directions inched their way towards the roundabout.
They were not doing it quietly.
A rusty skeletal minibus bound for Gulistan screeched into its brakes right in front of the entrance to Birdem Hospital. Another minibus -- this one headed for Motijheel --followed suit and stopped behind the first one consistently blaring its horn.
A pick-up truck tried to veer around the minibus, stopping a city bus in the middle of the avenue, prompting a tailback as dozens of other cars joined in the honking frenzy.
This was a random five-minute example of what many say a common scene at Shahbagh intersection -- a place where two of the city's most prominent hospitals are located.
Officials from both Birdem and Bangabandu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospitals say the incessant honking makes a difficult time for the patients.
"We have a good number of patients with serious health conditions. Even the slightest bother in the environment may have serious impact on their health. Loud noise are probably one of the worse offenders," said Dr Mehtab Uddin from Birdem Hospital.
Rightly so, patients and their family members share similar complaints.
"My father was released a few days ago after staying at the Birdem Hospital for around a week," said Faisal Hossain from Dhanmondi.
"On the day of his release, we were taking him out of the hospital towards the car. And then, there was a bus in front of the gate that kept blaring its horn," said Hossain.
"My father blocked his ears with his hands and almost fainted. He would not open his eyes on our way home, and had bad headache for the rest of the day," he said.
"The authorities have banned honking in front of hospitals for a reason. It is sad to see that some people lack the common sense to understand that," she added.
Sources at both the hospitals say honking starts from early morning and continues till midnight. And there has been no step to stop the unnecessary honking.
"It is not only honking that is spoiling the environment of the hospital," said Dr Efat Farhana, an intern from BSMMU. “You would see a lot of instances where loudspeakers are used to sell different products or making announcements and such."
Earlier in the week this correspondent found a number of hawkers at entrance to the BSMMU selling products such as books and insecticides.
"Before the election, microbuses were seen at Shahbagh with loudspeakers appealing for votes in almost every hour," said Selim, manager of a small shop near BSMMU.
All this noise pollution and the busy streets put a question mark on the very location of the two hospitals, he said.
Experts say the indiscriminate and unnecessary use of powerful vehicular horns is the primary source of noise pollution in the city.
Research reports from World Health Organisation (WHO), Unicef and World Bank (WB) say noise pollution is one of the 12 environment pollutants that cause 30 serious diseases. They can range from loss of hearing to problems with unborn babies.
''Don't Honk'' signs were installed last year at some major city intersections and a number of VIP streets. The purpose, traffic policemen said at the time, was to remind motorists that there is a law against unnecessary honking.
The idea was to implement the Motor Vehicles Ordinance of 1983 that forbids honking within 200 yards of places of worship, educational institutions, hospitals and courts.
Primarily, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) banned honking on the VIP road between the Sonargaon crossing and BSMMU intersection.
The ban was later extended to several other VIP and posh residential areas including Dhanmondi, Gulshan and some important locations.
The fine for honking at restricted zone is only Tk 200. However, most 'fines' paid by drivers are allegedly kept off the record by traffic policemen.
A spokesperson for DMP told this correspondent that motorists should at least watch their horns in front of hospitals especially these two.
"We are all aware of the traffic situation of city streets. It is difficult for our officers to keep an eye on the traffic situation and also on vehicles that are honking excessively," he said. "But we would start an all-out effort to curb honking soon."