Drives me crazy: Mumbai residents plead for respite from ‘musical road’
#Mumbai musical road #Jai Ho tune #Coastal Road Mumbai #Noise pollution complaint #Musical road safety feature #Mumbai residents protest #Breach Candy neighborhood #AR Rahman composition
📌 Key Takeaways
- Mumbai's first musical road plays 'Jai Ho' tune but has sparked complaints from residents
- The road is designed to encourage safe driving through vibrations that create music at specific speeds
- Over 650 families have signed a formal complaint about the intrusive noise from 6am to midnight
- The musical road has reignited controversy about the $1.6 billion Coastal Road project
- Residents argue the music creates auditory distraction and contradicts cities' efforts to reduce noise pollution
📖 Full Retelling
The musical road controversy has reignited debates about the $1.6 billion Coastal Road project itself, which has been contentious since its 2011 proposal. The expressway has significantly reduced travel time between Marine Drive and Worli from 45 minutes to approximately 10 minutes, but critics argue it primarily benefits wealthier car owners while the majority of Mumbai's 23 million residents continue to rely on overcrowded public transportation. Built on land reclaimed from the Arabian Sea, the taxpayer-funded infrastructure has faced persistent criticism about its environmental impact and equitable distribution of benefits. The residents' complaint highlights the irony of Mumbai introducing a noise-producing feature while urban centers globally strive to minimize noise pollution, suggesting that authorities may have prioritized innovation over community wellbeing in this case.
🏷️ Themes
Urban Innovation, Noise Pollution, Public Safety, Infrastructure Development
Entity Intersection Graph
No entity connections available yet for this article.
Original Source
Drives me crazy: Mumbai residents plead for respite from ‘musical road’ Motorway stretch plays music as a safety feature but those close to it say ‘intrusive’ noise is constant and distressing Residents of one of India’s most upmarket neighbourhoods say the country’s first “musical road” has turned their daily lives into a nightmare soundtrack. A stretch of Mumbai’s recently opened Coastal Road seafront expressway has been engineered to play the pulsating Oscar-winning tune Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire when vehicles drive on it at lower speeds. Civic officials say the feature is intended to encourage safer driving and is the first of its kind in India. Most musical roads worldwide have been built in less populated areas, but Mumbai’s runs past Breach Candy, home to industrialists, Bollywood stars and other high-profile celebrities. Residents say the refrain of Jai Ho, which roughly translates from Hindi as “let there be victory”, plays repeatedly from 6am until midnight. More than 650 families have signed a formal complaint urging authorities to stop the music, describing it as constant “intrusive background noise” that has caused significant distress. The tune “enters homes”, the complaint says, and many households keep their windows shut to block it out. Japan pioneered the concept of a musical road in 2007 , and they have since appeared in countries including Hungary, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the US. In Mumbai, India’s financial centre, civic officials pitched the project as a blend of engineering and entertainment and, most importantly, as a safety measure. Engineers have carved grooves in the asphalt that act like a giant vinyl record. When vehicles pass over them at between 45 and 50mph (70 and 80km/h), vibrations produce the tune composed by the Indian musician AR Rahman. If they drive too fast, the vibrations become uncomfortable, motivating drivers to slow down. Signs alert motorists before the musical stretch, telling them the...
Read full article at source