For some, it’s time to hit exit lane

While the city will welcome Lord Ganesh over the weekend, Senthil Ramanujam, a retired bank employee, will pack his bags and move to his farmhouse at Karjat for a quiet week away. “I cannot tolerate the blaring loudspeakers and the noise of the firecrackers which are an integral part of Mumbai’s loud and boisterous Ganeshotsav celebrations,” he said.

With Ganesh Chaturthi, Ramzan, Navratri and Diwali fast approaching in that order, there’s not much that people who dislike noise can do. Activist Sumaira Abdulali, who has been fighting against noise pollution through her NGO Awaaz Foundation, has written to police commissioner D N Jadhav asking him to ensure that noise levels do not exceed the permissible limits.

Last year, during Ganeshotsav, Abdulali along with a team of volunteers used decibelmeters to record noise levels at mandals in various across the city. “Last year’s findings clearly indicate that the 10 pm ban on the use of loudspeakers was openly flouted. Mandals continued to use loudspeakers while passing through silent zones and residential areas on visarjan day,” said Abdulali. Areas like Chowpatty, Dadar and Juhu recorded high decibels even after the 10 pm on many days, she added.

The reason for this, said Abdulali, is that the state government’s stand on the extensions to Ganeshotsav celebrations is unclear. Although the SC has given 15 days to every state government in the country to relax the 10 pm ban as per its discretion, every state government has to notify these specific days.