Bangalore: You wrap- up a string of meetings across the city and rush to catch the evening flight out to Bengaluru. What you often travel back with is memories of the cacophony of horns on the roads, and contrasting to that the quiet at the terminals at the 
Bengaluru Airport, which is a silent airport. Imagine if the outside of the airport was also silent.
CII-Young Indians launched the “Horn Not OK Please” (HNOP) campaign in Bengaluru today at the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB). The objective of the campaign is to make Bengaluru a honk free city by spreading awareness amongst public against unnecessary honking by working with the Govt. authorities to enforce the prevailing rules and regulations.
The airport saw students from the Sankara College of Optometry, IFIM Institutions and Surana College presenting Mimes & Street plays to reinforce that Horn Not OK. Placards with slogans to encourage better driving and reduce horn use dotted the road leading to the airport.
“The last Sunday of September is observed as World Deaf Day. We chose this day to launch the awareness drive against unnecessary honking at the Kempegowda International Airport. The campaign would be a sustained effort which would encourage all Bengaloreans to pledge Horn Not OK Please,” shared Rajesh, Chapter Chair, Young Indians (Bengaluru).
Noise pollution is second only to air pollution in the harm it does to the human body. Vehicle honking in traffic dons the dubious cap of being the largest noise maker throughout the world. Unnecessary honking causes not only noise pollution but it also has a serious impact on health of citizens and many times it leads to road rage and accidents. As per a recent study done by the Central Pollution Control Board, Bangalore was rated as the 7th noisiest city in India.
As a conscientious corporate we are cognizant of our responsibility towards the environment and have made conscious efforts to introduce initiatives that enable us to operate in a sustainable manner. One such introduction was adopting the “silent airport” philosophy to eliminate unnecessary sound at our Terminal. The ‘Horn Not Ok’ campaign is in-sync with our overall approach to operate in a noise-free environment. When Young Indians, approached us with this concept, we were happy to partner them. We pledged our support to this campaign and urge you to join us in making our airport a No Horn Zone” shared Mr Hari Marar, President Airport Operations, Bangalore International Airport Limited.
Shri B Vijayakumar, ACP (traffic), Bangalore North at the inauguration alluded, “Bengaluru has seen a multifold increase in traffic over the past decade. This leads often to long waits on the road. The frustration often leads to unnecessary horn use. We need to ensure that horns are only used in emergencies. Traffic Police Bangalore is happy to support this campaign of Horn Not OK Please, and we will work with Young Indians in identifying and enforcing Horn Not OK Zones across the city.”
Over 1500 passenger and drivers including prominent citizens Mr. Ravi Raghavan, Chairman Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr. Sandeep Maini, Managing Director Maini Group among others Horn Not OK Pledge in an endeavor to reduce the noise from unnecessary horn use by vehicles.