Processions with boom boxes shatter peace late into the night across Capital
NEW DELHI: Residents of south, east and southeast Delhi were in for a disturbed night on Monday as Navratri processions accompanied by stacks of loudspeakers loaded on trucks blared deafening music deep into the night, with little police intervention, despite the blatant violation of a raft of norms.
With Navratri ending on April 17, when Ram Navami will be observed, residents said they worried that their sleepless nights would continue for the next nine days if violators continue to get a free hand.
“The loudspeakers are so loud and have such deep bass that the windows rattled all night,” said Triveni Mahajan, a member of the Friends Colony residents’ welfare association (RWA), stressing that the nightmare is now a routine recurrence.
“Students and senior citizens are the worst affected, because the music goes on till around 4am. Police say they set up checkpoints, but we can’t say if these are of much help,” said Mahajan.
Delhi Police officers said they act against violators regularly and added that people have been “advised” against blocking streets.
“We made adequate police arrangements on NH-24 and NH-9, on which groups of devotees carried out the religious processions on Monday night… Some groups were found playing loud music through boom boxes... Such vehicles were intercepted and the devotees were counselled about rules pertaining to permitted noise levels,” said deputy commissioner of police (east) Apoorva Gupta.
Delhi Police disallows the use of loudspeakers between 10pm and 6am, with strict caps on volume levels, especially in residential areas, during the rest of the day.
In residential areas, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) permits a maximum noise level of 55dB(A) between 6am and 10pm. This threshold falls to 45dB(A) from 10pm till 6am, when the use of loudspeakers is banned.
Db(A), or a weighted decibel, is a measure of how loud something sounds to the human ear.
CPCB also outlines specific guidelines for loudspeakers — the noise level at the boundary of the public place where a loudspeaker or public address system is being used shall not exceed the noise standards for the respective area by more than 10dB(A) or go beyond a maximum of 75dB(A), whichever is lower.
But these rules have little footing on the ground, with a general disregard for noise guidelines and authorities reluctant to take action against violators translating into an agonising experience for residents of these regions, especially Maharani Bagh, Friends Colony, Kalkaji, Okhla, CR Park, Panchsheel Park and Mayur Vihar, among several others.
“Every person has religious freedom, but that should be practised without disturbing the people in the vicinity,” said Inder Kohli, a resident of Kalkaji.
Indeed, the problem is exacerbated around Kalkaji Mandir, a hub for devotees during Navratri.
Mahajan said that devotees returning from the popular temple in southeast Delhi blockade the roads 7pm onwards, especially the stretch of Outer Ring Road between Nehru Place and Okhla NSIC Metro station, and prop up loudspeakers on vehicles, in a cacophony that lasts hours.
An HT spot check early on Tuesday morning backed these claims up. The carriageway from Kalkaji to the Metro station was choked with lines of passenger vehicles and trucks parked by the side of the roads, apart from makeshift food and beverage stalls, even as devotees travelled in groups on the open section of the road.
Devotees on motorcycles, opentop jeeps and small trucks were seen ignoring traffic norms. Several motorcycles seated four riders, with few helmets in sight.
“These groups gather and dance along the roads and halt traffic. Even people who want to be home to mark the festival have to spend hours on the road,” said Chetan Sharma, a resident of Vasant Kunj and general secretary of the Confederation of RWAs.
Residents of east Delhi concurred and said this was a repeated occurrence. “Loud music is a huge problem in our neighbourhood, and we keep complaining to the police. But there has not been a permanent solution yet,” said Vinod Nair, RWA president of pocket D SFS flats in Mayur Vihar Phase 3.
In 2021, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) issued guidelines that defined penalties for separate categories of violations of noise regulations. A fine of ₹1,000 will be issued for loud firecrackers being burst in residential and commercial areas, a penalty that jumps to ₹3,000 if the area is a silent zone.
A DPCC official said, “Noise enforcement powers have been given to police and revenue.”
A senior Delhi Traffic Police officer, on condition of anonymity, said traffic personnel around the Kalkaji and Jhandewalan temples were instructed to take action against those violating traffic rules. “We have already issued traffic advisories, informing the public about certain restrictions and diversions on roads around the temples and urging them to follow the traffic norms,” the officer said.
According to DPCC regulations, people responsible for using loudspeakers at volumes beyond the permitted limit can be fined ₹10,000. Fines between ₹10,000 and ₹30,000 will be imposed for the use of loud firecrackers in rallies, weddings and other events. Importantly, these fines are all compounding, which means repeat offenders will be penalised significantly heavier amounts, going up to ₹5 lakh.