BAGA: A month ago, Herald had reported about the noise pollution and the inconvenience being caused to the Jesuit fathers residing at Xavier Retreat House in Baga, Calangute.
The Retreat House was built in 1952 on the hill across the Baga creek to attend to the spiritual needs of the people of Goa. Of late, the number of people visiting this place for retreats and recollection was dropping due to the loud music played at wee hours in the morning.
The Retreat House Director, Fr Lawry Trinidade, informed Herald that after the issue was highlighted in Herald, they have not faced any problem related to loud music or music being played after the stipulated time.
“We are once again able to provide the people visiting this place with a serene atmosphere after so many years. Over the last one week, there are no instances of loud music being played after 10 pm in the vicinity and this is a sigh of relief for us and those visiting us. We would be happy if the authority concerned declares the area of 200 meters radius from our boundary as a Silence Zone. Hopefully, the serenity and tranquillity of this place will be maintained in the same manner,” Fr Lawry said.
Before Herald highlighted the issue, the Retreat House director had complained to the police at various levels. His last complaint was file before the collector on October 8, with copies to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of Environment.
Earlier in May, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) inspected the Retreat House to take readings of noise pollution. The inspection report stated that the noise monitoring conducted at the entrance approximately 3 meters away from the retreat house in between 10.51 pm and 11.51 pm showed that the noise level recorded during that time was 64.1 dB (A).
It was noticed that the music played at the shacks was exceeding the permissible limits, 45 dB (A) for residential zone prescribed under the Noise (Regulation and Control of Pollution) Rule, 2000 for residential area during the night from 10 pm to 6 am.
