Sonic worries for residents

The residents of the last belt of Koregaon Park, living towards the railway station side, have been longstanding sufferers of the honking of the trains passing by.

Residents allege that the incessant honking prevents them from enjoying peaceful sleep at night, which is a regular feature. The broken wall along the station's periphery does little to prevent the noise from streaming through.
 Savli Shelar, a standard 12 student who lives in the vicinity, said, "I find it impossible to focus on my studies at night due to the constant noise. We can hardly afford counter measures like soundproof glass. I feel that the authorities should impose limits on the duration of the honking and designate silence zones, if possible."
 Suman Seth, another resident, feels, "The noise is certainly irritating and even unnerving on occasion. I do understand that the drivers need to use it as an occupational tool, however, they must exercise discretion while doing so." Shweta Patil, another local, added, "The train horn doesn't even let me practice classical singing. The din continues throughout the day too; there's simply no respite!"
 Reacting to the grievances raised, station master of Shivaji Nagar Railway station, Shankar G, said, "The 'horn' is actually termed as a whistle. The whistle is blown for certain reasons, the time of the day notwithstanding. There are different types of whistles: short, long and continuous whistles. The long whistle is blown before the train starts. Once in motion, the short one goes off."
 He informed Cityplus that in the event of a technical problem arising, the driver blows short and long whistles alternatively. "If anyone pulls the chain to stop the train then again a long whistle is blown. The track behind Koregaon Park has many signals and maintenance stations, therefore the whistles are blown very frequently. We are merely doing our job by using the whistles the right way. After all, we have to ensure that stray accidents don't happen."

--JYOTI NALAWADE