Rajeev Kumar Mishra

Evaluation and analysis of traffic noise along bus rapid transit system corridor.

Due to increasing motorization, construction of flyovers and growth in transport network, the noise level has exceeded the prescribed limits in many Indian cities. The health implications of high noise levels are being identified as hypertension, sleeplessness, mental stress, etc. Due to this adverse effect of noise level, it is essential to assess the impact of traffic noise on residents and road users. This research is an effort to quantify and analyze the traffic noise emissions along bus rapid transit corridor in Delhi. Field measurements were carried out to understand and assess various aspects of the impact of bus rapid transit system corridor on land use and social lives of residents and road users. The present analysis presents the comparison between observed and predicted noise level at selected corridors and also describes the mitigatory measures to overcome such type of traffic noise pollution through design of noise barrier along the road and motivate people towards the use of public transport system.

Study of Air and Noise Pollution in Mega Cities of India

Public health studies are linked to both air and noise pollution in terms of common adverse health effects attributed to severity of such pollution such as increased blood pressure, heart diseases, and other respiratory ailments. In urban areas of mega cities, air and noise pollution originating from different sources such as traffic, industries and construction activities, etc., is on gradual and alarming increase. In view of the same, objective of this study was to analyze the air and noise pollution levels in three megacities of India, namely Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai during 2006–2011 at different locations categorized as industrial, commercial, and institutional areas. Following the analysis, the equivalent noise levels (L eq) of all the cities were found to be slightly greater than permissible limits of CPCB guidelines whereas the criteria pollutants SO2, PM10 and NOx showed a positive relation between noise levels and air pollution. This statistical comparative analysis as an important outcome will help understand the actual trend of air and noise pollution during different years in various Indian mega cities and subsequent mitigation measures.

Air quality assessment along urban transport corridor in megacity

Urban traffic emission is one of the grievous problems faced by people in urban centres of developing countries like India. Inspite of bad air quality, people are forced to live in air-polluted areas of megacities like Delhi. The present study is an effort to analyse the air quality of some selected areas along major urban transport corridors in Delhi. On the basis of land-use pattern, five locations, i.e., Rithala, Pitampura, Kashmiri Gate, Jhilmil, and Panchsheel Enclave were selected to conduct the research study. The study included the monitoring of CO, NOx, SO2 and PM at all the identified locations for 12 hrs (8:00 to 20:00). The monitored data of each location was used to estimate the composite air quality index (CAQI). The highest value of CAQI was observed at Jhilmil (140) followed by Kashmiri Gate (127), Pitampura (109), Rithala (104) and Panchsheel Encalve (103). Upon comparing the CAQI of all the selected locations with the rating scale of air quality index, it was found that all the selected locations were under severe air pollution condition, a clear representative of the unhealthy condition of people residing in these particular areas.