Wedding joy for some, pain for many
Very noisy, slow movement of baraats a big pain
When people get married, it’s a time for rejoicing but not for those living in the neighbourhood who have to put up with the noisy baraats every other day.
Most wedding baraats or processions do not seek the permission of the traffic police because they have to go only a short distance to the function hall, usually within 500 metres’ distance. But, the time taken to cover this distance by the dancing baraatis and the accompanying blaring band can be more than an hour.
On main roads such processions block traffic, and in residential areas, the sound made by the band disturbs the neighbourhood. Daredevil stunts are performed in some processions and crackers are set off, adding to the din. The noise reaches unbearable levels just outside the function hall.
There is rarely any designated parking outside the hall, so cars of guests are parked haphazardly creating a constant din as people arrive and depart. Garbage is often thrown on the road and there is the added nuisance of drunken revellers.
In many areas, police stations are located close to these halls and though the noise and revelry goes on till the early hours of the morning, the police don’t act in the interest of the larger public and demand that rules be followed.
For example, at Red Hills, Saifabad, there are four function halls and a police station located at the entrance of the lane.
There is not just one but two wedding processions, one when the groom arrives at the marriage hall for the wedding and the second when the bride is taken to the groom’s house after the wedding. The latter begins in the evening and goes on till late night, attracting many complaints.
Poonam Jain of Radhika Colony, A.S. Rao Nagar, lives next to a hotel. “Whenever the hotel is booked for a wedding, the music played by the band is so loud that the floors vibrate,” she says.
“The drum beating is continuous and extremely harsh to the ear. There are times when the baraat begins at 11 pm. Wedding processions now have focus lights that move in a random direction creating further disturbance.”