LAHORE - As loadshedding continues in City again with all its might, nuisance of generators has once again plagued the residential and commercial localities causing noise and air pollution besides barricading way for the pedestrians. Most of the generators are creating more than 100 decibels noise against normal level of 70 decibels trigging alarming noise pollution in the City. A number of commercial buildings, including banks, restaurants, offices and retail shops, have placed heavy generators outside their premises or on footpaths. One can witness hundreds of generators running simultaneously in commercial markets like Liberty Market, Icchra, Anarkali and many other markets when there is power outage. Lahorites are already facing serious threats from the rising level of noise pollution on different city roads and crossings especially on Ferozpur Road, Multan Road, Jail Road, The Mall, Canal Road, Wahdat Road and Circular Road, the generators have been playing their nasty role. One can hear the heavy noise of generators in almost every street in the provincial capital and the people residing in flats in commercial markets are having serious problems with the noise and smoke. In most of the commercial areas, people place their generators either outside their premises or at the footpath so that they can save themselves from the noise. A very thin majority has also placed heavy generators at their rooftops or at the backside of their business areas. According to the traders, the main reason for placing generators outside their business areas is lack of space. It is pertinent to mention that majority of the users have not installed silencers on their generators, besides using diesel generators. Moreover majority of the commercial entrepreneurs do not get any no objection certificate (NOC) from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD). A senior EPD official said commercial and industrial entrepreneurs are bound to get an NOC from the department. He said the department had already directed the telecommunication companies installing BTS Towers in the province to give priority to UPS system at their sites. He said the second priority was gas generators while the diesel generators were the last choice. In case of a diesel generator, the company is bound to install silencer and other equipment on the generator to control its sound and as well as emissions, he maintained, adding that the noise released from the generators should not be more than 70 decibels. District Officer (Environment) Tariq Zaman said the generators, place outside the premises of a business, were considered encroachments and the City District Government was going to start a campaign against the heavy generators. He said the Environment Department received a number of complaints regarding the issue. Meanwhile, the market is now flooded with Chinese generators. Japanese generators are qualitatively superior but the price difference is too vast. There is a marked price difference between Chinese and Japanese brands. The quality conscious buyers still prefer Japanese generators. A 500-watt Japanese generator is priced at Rs50,000 as compared to Rs20,000-30,000 for a Chinese generator. The price of a one-KVA generator of Chinese brand ranges between Rs30,000 and Rs40,000, as against Rs70,000 for a Japanese generator. Similarly, a two-KVA Japanese generator can be purchased at Rs1,00,000 as against Rs50,000 for a Chinese generator, depending on make and quality.