Mumbai: No-Honking Day fell on deaf ears

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April 08, 2008 03:07 IST

The unique initiative of observing a 'No-Honking Day' to reduce noise pollution in Mumbai on Monday evoked lukewarm response from Mumbaikars as motorists chose to honk to wade through chaotic traffic, ignoring the police's appeal.

The traffic police, which had made the appeal on occasion of the World Health Day today, however took action against over 6,000 motorists for using the horn in no-honking zones, using reverse and pressure horns and honking unnecessarily till 6pm on Monday.

"The drive was an effort to create awareness amongst the people..We can drive without using horns in Mumbai. It's for the people to judge the effectiveness of the drive and we must take the effort forward," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vijay Kamble told PTI here.

Kamble said many offenders had tiffs with policemen on the road as they were "oblivious" to things like honking in the vicinity of schools, hospitals and courts is not allowed.

Celebrities, including actor Amitabh Bachchan, supported the drive.

The traffic department had roped in over 2,000 volunteers and other NGOs to spread the word about observing the day as the first-ever 'No-Honking Day'.

Traffic police have been successfully carrying the widely-emulated drive against drunken driving since June last year in which over 13,000 motorists have been sent to jail. 

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