Horn Ok Please: Nitin Gadkari mulls new law to make honking sound 'pleasant'

Nitin Gadkari (File)

Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said he is mulling a new legislation under which sounds of Indian musical instruments will be used as horn for vehicles.

"I am planning to make a law that horns of all vehicles should be in Indian musical instruments so that it is pleasant to hear. Flute, tabla, violin, harmonium," Gadkari was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Gadkari, who was speaking at an event in New Delhi, said that the transport sector accounts for about 40 per cent of the air pollution in India, adding that the Modi government is promoting vehicles that run on green and bio-fuel, including methanol and ethanol.

This is not the first time that Gadkari has proposed such a law in the country.

In 2021, Gadkari had said he was planning to introduce a law to make sound of Indian musical instruments mandatory as a horn for vehicles.

The Union minister also said he was considering replacing the sirens used in ambulances and police vehicles with a more pleasant tune played on the All India Radio (AIR).

Gadkari had suggested that sounds of instruments like flute, tabla, violin, mouth organ and harmonium could be used while honking.

In 2023, Gadkari said that the government was planning to introduce an upper limit of around 50 decibels for the vehicle horns.

(With inputs from PTI)