Zainab Sheikh, who suffers from high blood pressure, throws stuff around and bangs her head on the walls when she's home because of the noisy construction work near her building, which allegedly goes on for 18 hours every day
Zainab Sheikh, who suffers from high blood pressure, throws stuff around and bangs her head on the walls when she's home because of the noisy construction work near her building, which allegedly goes on for 18 hours every day
Seven-year-old Zainab Sheikh hates staying at home even on her school holidays and, according to her mother, "throws stuff around, bangs her head on the walls, screams and cries" if she is made to stay at her Santacruz (East) residence even for some time.
Little Zainab has been highstrung and irritable
The reason for her extreme irritability, however, is not her home, family or a liking for throwing tantrums. The young girl, who has been suffering from high blood pressure since she was three, gets annoyed by the loud machinery used at a construction site opposite her building for an amazing 18 hours a day.
Zainab's father, Abdullah, said, "Nandeep building is being redeveloped by Option builders bang opposite my house. The work goes on from 6 am to midnight on an everyday basis, which is really troublesome."
He added, "My 67-year-old mother is diabetic and also suffers from high blood pressure. But I'm worried about Zainab the most."
His wife, Sana, said, "My daughter has had blood pressure problems for four years now. But, she has become very irritable since the construction work started. She is a child and, in her condition, she cannot bear the noise."
Shamshad Begum, Abdullah's mother, said, "As an old woman my head hurts and I feel irritable and I cannot even imagine what poor Zainab is going through at her age."
She added, "She can't take the noise and fights with everyone at home. In fact, she has begun to hate Thursdays and Sundays, when she doesn't have school. My son takes her to his office on Thursdays, but when she comes back home, she gets angry and irritated again."
Zainab's pediatrician, Dr Ravindra Chittal, has increased her dose of tablets from two to four a day to reduce the stress caused to her by the grinding noise. He has suggested that she be kept in a room where there is peace and quiet but Abdullah said the sound permeates all the rooms in their house.
Elder sis too
The noise has not spared Zainab's elder sister Memoona either. The Std VII student studies from midnight to 2:30 am because she can't concentrate because of the noise.
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Then, she leaves for school at 6:30 am.
"Even I prefer being in school to being at home. My tuition teacher, who teaches us between 6 pm and 9 pm, is so fed up with the noise and the screaming she has to do because of it that she has threatened to stop coming to teach us altogether."
The family said they have tried using thermocol, cloth layers and cardboard to block the sound coming from their windows, but it hasn't helped."
Shaikh has complained about the noise to the Vakola police station, the builder and the BMC, but to no avail.
We were there
An hour-and-a-half at the Shaikhs' house made this reporter's head spin, with the grind of the marble cutting machine, the banging of hammers and the incessant noise of the lift used to take material and personnel up and down the construction site.
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She had to scream to talk to the family and little Zainab, who said, "My head is paining. I don't like holidays," was almost inaudible because of the noise.
The Other Side
A spokesperson for Option builders said, "We try to avoid using the noisy machines in the afternoons so that people can rest. After 10 pm, we only carry out work which can be done silently.
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The noisy machines start only after 9 am. We have a tight schedule and are trying to complete the work in time. We realise this is a residential area and we keep that in mind while going about our work."
A senior officer from the Vakola police said, "When we go to the site, we find that the work has stopped or is going on silently. So the complaint does not hold water."
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The Shaikhs, however, claim that the labourers stop working when the police patrol is on and resume immediately afterwards.
H-east ward officials said they were looking into the matter and would come up with a solution soon.
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