CERS opposes glowing of neon lights in residential areas

Ahmedabad, Aug 30 (UNI) A city-based voluntary organisation has suggested to the Gujarat government and the municipal corporation to disallow the corporates from keeping their hoardings glowing in residential areas all night as they have been depriving the people's sleep at night.

Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), Ahmedabad has made a representation to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the Ministry of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Environment to this effect.

CERS, in an official release here, said ''In modern metros and mega cities, where commercial and residential areas are mixed, neon lights should not be allowed to glow all through the night to the inconvenience of citizens in and around the area, especially the elders, children and the ailing. In Ahmedabad, for instance, the residents in flats or small houses in several areas, where such hoardings have been put up, scarcely get a good night's sleep.'' ''The authorities in Ahmedabad, as in many other metro and mega cities, every year notify the organisers of programmes during 'Navratri', 'Muharram' and other festivals to switch off the loudspeakers for the night to prevent noise pollution and avoid inconvenience to citizens. Should not similar rules be applied to prevent light pollution during the night in Ahmedabad and other big cities?,'' it argued.

''CERS strongly believes that keeping neon 'switched on' the whole night is a waste of energy. It is also harmful to the environment (for generating one unit of electricity 0.4 to 0.6 kg of coal is used, thereby increasing 'carbon footprints' that would ultimately result into 'global warming'). It is socially costly, as sleepless nights may harm the health of the citizens in the long run. It distracts the vehicular traffic (read drivers) using the road near such glowing hoardings causing fatal accidents, and harms the aesthetic appeal of developing cities.'' CERS has requested the municipal corporation, the Ministry of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Environment to take initiative and evolve measures to disallow the advertisers from making their neon hoardings glow all night so as not to disturb the sleep and health of citizens and harm the aesthetic appeal of the city.

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