Residents fight against light pollution for a peaceful sleep

For the last three years Charni Road resident Nilesh Desai has been at loggerheads with the several gymkhanas in his area The floodlights being used there argues the IT professional cut through and enter the homes of locals giving rise to a series of health problems such as retinal damage uneasy sleep increased headaches mood swings and anxiety But most people are not aware that they are being victimised by light pollutionAlso Read Mumbai Drummers leave citizens banging heads on the wallIt is a serious concern We have a right to live a healthy life and these floodlights have been causing a nuisance Each time there is a party or function the gymkhanas keep the floodlights on till late in the night he saysMahim Mahim Dargah Lady Jamshetjee Road PicAtul KambleWhile Desai recently scored a victory against Wilson Gymkhana which pulled down its highmast floodlights after the collector pointed out they did not have the permission to use them the 35yearold also wrote to the Marine Drive police station recently complaining against the floodlights on the tennis court of Hindu Gymkhana The gymkhana turns on its tennis court floodlights at 530 am which deprives residents of nearby buildings of quality sleep reads the complaint letter sent to the police on March 16 In the letter Desai wrote Residents have to put up blinds at night to avoid morning light pollution originating from floodlights which in turn deprives us of fresh sea breezeGokhale Road North Dadar 532 LuxDesai isnt alone in his quest The Collector of Mumbai Shivajirao Jondhale tells midday that his office receives regular complaints regarding light pollution Though there is no law to prevent light pollution the police take action under Bombay Police Act which states that anyone creating any form of nuisance to the public in general through any activity is liable to be punished said Jondhale adding Either the High Court or the government should legislate a law to prevent this menace for the welfare of citizensMeanwhile Desai wants the timings of weddings and other events at the local gymkhanas which require the use of floodlights be restricted to 10 pm That is not all I have also been fighting against light pollution from a heavilylit hospital advertisement billboard in my locality which used to be on through the night It took me four months to get justice after continuous follow up with the civic authoritiesBandra station 66 LUXBlinded in MumbaiActivist Sumaira Abdulali in pic below known for campaigning against sound pollution points out that theres no real definition of what constitutes light pollution The boundary line to define light pollution is hazy as people are affected differently by the same lighting source It is common for one persons light pollution to be light that is desirable to another The pollution is felt in daytoday life in terms of light pouring in from a neighbours property street lighting lit hoardings and advertising clutter Car headlamps are unchecked for colour intensity or beam angles causing blinding glares and temporary blindness to drivers of oncoming cars pedestrians and people living in neighbourhoods close to the roads to whom it is the seed of sleeplessness and thereby of the onset of multiple health conditions Advertisers are not held in any way responsible for light clutter that is often the cause of accidents In fact as bright lights and colours attract drivers attentions this is an outcome that is desired and not one that is sought to be minimisedMalad resident Dipesh Tank also a TedX speaker suffers from street lights entering his house at night While the easiest solution is to close the window and draw the curtains this adds to the carbon footprint as closed rooms will need AC We spend enough money on tax for authorities to have smarter way of installing street lights PicSatej ShindeAbdulalis organisation Awaz Foundation in 2017 conducted a study on light pollution measuring the ambient light levels along Juhu Beach As per the report the lux level underneath the lights then at a height of 100 feet through the landward side of the beach was 67000 lux while near the edge of the water it was 003 luxAs per experts the human eye should not be exposed directly to lux levels exceeding 5060 The report was submitted to the state environment department and the BMC in December 2017 after which the intensity of lights at the beach was reducedAbdulali along with midday armed with a lux meter went to two spots to check the lighting At Gateway of India the reading showed 26 and at Bandra station 66 The lights at Gateway were not disturbing but the lights at Bandra station West were erratic The temperature and colour of lights are questionable because the blue lights are more disturbing than yellow lights Later the midday team too went to different spots in the city to measure how much light we are subjected toIf Gateway of India at a reading of 26 lux is the standard that should be permissible in the city other spots were far too bright Metro Inox cinema at Dhobi Talao brought up a reading of 74 nearly three time the intensity at Gateway while the Metro site on Gokhale Road North and Ranade Road Junction presented a reading of 535Air India and Yogakshema Junction 82 LUXDesai adds Metro Inox Cinema at Azad Maidan had put up a glaring digital flickering display board which could cause accidents at Metro junction Recently I filed an RTI with Mumbai traffic police to know who has provided permission from MTP for setting up such bright display boards and the norms around setting up advertisement boards I received a negative response from MTP but the brightness of light was reduced after filing the RTI Mumbai Metro construction is another source of light pollution as unshielded highmast lights are used at construction sites which are in close vicinity of residential complexes I am planning to draft a letter to Mumbai Metro chief on light pollution awareness with a request to put light shields to reduce lights that spill on to residential propertiesMetro site on Dr Annibesant road Worli PicAtul KambleThe highmast lights at the ongoing Mumbai Metro construction sites also fall under light pollution Sandeep Jalgaonkar a Mahim West resident where the Metro construction is underway tells midday Here the current width of the road is insufficient due to the ongoing Metro construction work and it is very difficult to clearly see the traffic if a series of highmast white lights penetrate into your eyes while drivingBadhwar PARK 87 LUXHow it affects your healthSandeep Saroj a resident of Yari Road in Andheri West says his eye doctor has now asked him to stay away from streetlights The accountant who spends his day staring at a computer screen anyway adds I have been prescribed spectacles because of the streetlights My doctor says the UV rays from the light are affecting my eyesight Not only has he asked me to use eye drops regularly to protect my vision but also mentioned that I should avoid highvoltage streetlightsDr Vijay Shinde a consultant eye surgeon at Apollo Clinic Andheri East says Bright white and cool fluorescent tube bulbs and incandescent bulbs emit the most UV radiation and cause the most damage to your eyes Excessive exposure to blue light from sources such as smartphones tablets and some LED lighting has also been shown to cause damage to eyesight according to the American Optometric AssociationMetro Junction 74 LUXThe amount of light the human eye can adjust to and find useful is between 400 and 500 microns LED lights installed above hoardings and in stadiums and open grounds are more than 500 microns Shinde adds that excess light can also affect sleep patterns The problem with LED lighting when it comes to our already scrambled sleeping rhythms is that it generates light of predominantly blue wavelengths which your eyes are far more sensitive to than other wavelengths of light and which tricks your brain into thinking that there is far more light in the environment than there actually is This in turn causes your body to suppress its production of sleep hormones even more than would be the case otherwiseDr Abhay Deshpande who has been studying and subsequently teaching astronomy since 1990 and runs Khagol Mandal a society of astronomers in Mumbai says the extent of light pollution is increasing each year In the past decade we have rapidly achieved electrification in most parts of the country Further we have migrated to LED technology Back in 2000 we could easily see Andromeda Galaxy as well as the Milky Way Belt with naked eyes at locations just 50 km away from Mumbai Today we are unable to see both these objects very clearly from most places With the current predictions 50 years on the pollution could be so high that a clear night sky will be difficult to see As an amateur astronomer I feel that we should help maintain the dark skies as it is a legacy that we will be passing on to the next generationAlso Read Mumbai Skywalks located on SV road across three suburbs to make way for metro 2Gymkhana speaksAmit Shroff tennis court secretary at Hindu Gymkhana says I had asked Desai for photos clicked from his house to show how the lights are reaching his home But he has not sent these To the best of my knowledge we are not breaching any law Regarding the issue of lights from weddings and other events on their grounds he adds There are 20 weddings in a year in and even then lights go off by about 11 pm Desai seems to be continuing his grievance although his problem has been resolved for all practical purpose by getting the Wilson Gymkhana lights removed Our gymkhana general secretary has also invited him for discussions but at such a short notice I am not in a position to verify what has happened in that regardCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS 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