It is heart-wrenching to read about the death of the passenger who was hit a number of times by a minibus conductor over noise pollution in the bus. People have a right to speak out against loud noise and they are entitled to the comfort of a peaceful ride on a public operated vehicle for which they pay a fare. That is their right.
The law against loud music on buses is not being enforced. It is not even pleasant, entertaining music that is played in the buses, as most of the times the songs are lewd and disrespectful to the decent-minded. I use the minibuses whenever I am in Guyana to interact with ordinary Guyanese, and one can sense the unhappiness of passengers having to listen to the trash at a loud volume that deafens the ears. On many occasions, I protested against the loud music and often found myself the lone voice speaking out against the noise. Others tend to be afraid to speak out against the high decibel music, or simply enjoy the boisterous noise. Some even smoke in the buses when it is against the law to smoke in enclosed places, further destroying our health. The loud-music buses pass right in front of police stations and patrol cops on the road, but the police tend to do nothing. They just wave the drivers on. I am surprised that those who ride the buses are not deaf from the loud music which does damage the eardrums after a while. Any doctor will tell people that loud noise damages the eardrums.
The government must crack down on minibus operators, bringing in the buses and charging offenders. As for the conductor who had hit the passenger, he must face the music of the law.
But the driver should not go unscathed as he is responsible for regulating the music played on the bus. He should also be charged. The law against bus noise pollution must be enforced.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
