High Court orders seizure of vehicles with hydraulic horns

Vehicles using hydraulic horns on Dhaka streets will be seized after Aug 27, according to a new High Court order.

It also issued a 48-hour deadline for drivers and authorities to stop the use of the horns banned from being import.

A High Court bench passed the order on Wednesday after holding an initial hearing on a petition filed by rights body, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh or HRPB.

The court also ordered authorities to take measures to stop imports and confiscate devices available in the local market within seven days.

The police have been told to update the court within two weeks.

The HRPB petition cited the rampant use of hydraulic horns despite a ban in place in line with the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, and sought an order to confiscate the devices.

Hydraulic horns create a much louder sound than the usual electric horns.

Experts say these horns, one of the prime factors of sound pollution, cause serious problems, especially to the children.

At a media briefing on Aug 16, Dhaka Metropolitan Police chief Asaduzzaman Miah said they have managed to curb the use of these devices, but yet to wipe out it completely from the capital.

In the last one year, police have confiscated as many as 10,000 hydraulic horns, according to Commissioner Miah.