A road roller could soon become the final stop for Lucknow’s illegal motorcycle silencers, with traffic police considering crushing modified silencers confiscated in the past 10 days.Traffic police personnel with the seized modified bike silencers removed during a crackdown. (Sourced)For years, the loud, often explosive sound of modified motorcycle silencers has been a familiar nuisance on city roads. The latest enforcement drive, conducted between September 2 and September 11, saw traffic police remove 510 such silencers, which were deposited at the police lines.The move to consider destroying the silencers follows similar action in other cities, where confiscated silencers have been physically crushed to prevent their reuse.“The enforcement is aimed at curbing noise pollution as well as the public nuisance caused by riders deliberately altering factory-fitted exhaust systems,” DCP (traffic) Raveena Tyagi said.The crackdown was particularly intensive on September 5, when traffic police checked 865 vehicles, issued 140 challans and removed 100 modified silencers. Eight vehicles were also seized, making it the biggest single-day haul during the period.On September 10, police checked 471 vehicles, issued 63 challans and seized one vehicle. Fifty-one modified silencers were deposited at the police lines.On September 7, police checked 425 vehicles, issued 61 challans and seized two vehicles. Fifty-five modified silencers were deposited at the police lines.On September 6, 392 vehicles were checked, 55 challans issued and one vehicle seized, while 45 modified silencers were deposited at the police lines.In Nagpur, traffic police have recently taken the crackdown a step further. On September 5, officials destroyed 372 modified and unauthorised silencers by running a road roller over them. Police said the move was aimed at ensuring the seized exhausts could not be reused. The city had detected 342 cases involving modified or unauthorised silencers this year till September 5.Pune has adopted a similar approach. In one recent operation in Kharadi, police seized 45 motorcycles fitted with illegally modified silencers and subsequently crushed them using a road roller. Across Pune, traffic police said they had seized 650 motorcycles with modified silencers in five days.“Right now, the removal/surrender of illegally fitted silencers is underway. The possibility of recurrence of the offence is also a concern, so we will assess what further action needs to be taken,” DCP Traffic Raveena Tyagi told HT.