6 trucks with boomboxes in 20 minutes, peaks of 110 decibels: Delhi's Kanwar Yatra chaos continues

HT’s sound meters logged peaks of 110 decibels around Kanwar Yatra trucks, double the 55db limit for residential areas during the day and 45db at night.

Delhi lived through another sleepless night on Sunday as kanwariyas traversed the city in droves, with trucks loaded with boomboxes blaring music at levels well beyond legal limits, while residents braced for severe traffic misery on Monday and Tuesday as pilgrim numbers swell alongside the weekday rush.

Delhi Police did little to keep the blare in check, despite residents from several neighbourhoods on the Kanwar Yatra route airing their concerns. (HT Photo/Sanjeev Verma)

HT’s sound meters logged peaks of 110 decibels again around a clutch of Kanwar Yatra trucks, double the 55db limit for residential areas during the day and 45db at night. To be sure, the use of loudspeakers at any volume is disallowed between 10pm and 6am.

Delhi Police did little to keep the blare in check, despite residents from several neighbourhoods on the Yatra route airing their concerns, especially the health effects of exposure to such volumes, coupled with the window-rattling bass.

However, officers said they had stepped up deployment and that more than 250 paramilitary personnel and 1,533 police personnel will patrol the streets to maintain law and order.

Sound meter records near kanwar camps

During a spot check on Saturday and Sunday night, HT measured the noise using professional meters in south and southeast Delhi areas including Kalindi Kunj, Shaheen Bagh, Kalkaji, Sarai Kale Khan and Ashram. The meters registered a peak of 105.2 decibels near Kalindi Kunj, close to a kanwar camp while boomboxes blared devotional music.

Two camps have been set up for kanwariyas near the Kalindi Kunj metro station, and HT recorded six trucks with boomboxes passing by in 20 minutes.

Even at a distance, readings oscillated between 95db and 99db. Traffic police personnel, meanwhile, managed the flow of vehicles, but turned a deaf-ear to the sustained noise violations.

On Outer Ring Road, near Kalkaji temple, noise readings rocketed to 110.3 decibels, as loud as hearing a jackhammer or drill at close proximity. Similar readings were recorded at the site during the spot check on Saturday night.

At the Ashram flyover, the sound touched 95.2 decibels.

The disruption has become an annual recurrence, despite Indian laws prescribing a stringent legal framework governing noise levels.

Noise level restrictions

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) restricts noise levels in residential areas to 55db between 6am and 10pm, and 45 decibels through the night. Loudspeakers face a hard limit of 75db at the boundary of the public place where they are used.

Moreover, the Supreme Court has also prohibited the use of loudspeakers and sound amplifiers between 10pm and 6am except in public emergencies.

The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, permit state governments to push the night cut-off to midnight on up to 15 religious or cultural days a year, but even that carve-out is bound by the 75-db ceiling. The Motor Vehicles Act separately prohibits both boomboxes and the vehicle modifications that mount them.

Residents flag noise concerns

Residents said the situation is likely to worsen this week as Mahashivratri coincides with the return to regular work schedules.

“Since Friday night, the loud and vibrating music has become increasingly frequent, posing a concern for everyone — from the elderly and children to pets, who are particularly vulnerable to such noise,” said Chitra Jain, president of the New Friends Colony Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA).

“Since it was the weekend, things were still manageable as people did not have to step out for work and children were at home. But now, as the regular work and school week resumes alongside the expected increase in pilgrims, navigating the roads will become even more difficult. Things are likely to get worse over the next two or three days,” said Jain.

“But all we can do is resign ourselves to the fact that no authority or police personnel is likely to step in to curb the noise levels,” added Jain.

Other residents raised similar concerns.

Residents raised concerns of expecting conditions to get worse as Mahashivratri collides with a regular weekday. (HT Photo/Parveen Kumar)

“Maharani Bagh abuts Mathura Road and Ring Road, so just getting in and out of the locality will become a major task. Then the story of every year will repeat — residents will reach out to the RWA for a solution, and we will turn to authorities, but hardly any solution will be provided. I honestly find it futile to complain now,” said Amitosh Moitra, president of the Maharani Bagh RWA.

Rajeev Kapoor, vice-president of the NFC RWA, said the sheer number of kanwariyas makes it unnerving to step outside when they are on the street.

Police said they have deployed multiple teams on the ground at pickets, overseeing barricades, interacting with kanwariyas and securing camps. On Sunday, special commissioner of police (law and order), Devesh Chandra Srivastava, visited kanwar camps across the city to check the arrangements.

Traffic police deployment

Delhi Police said they have deployed more than 1,533 personnel for safety, security and public assistance, in addition to 250 CAPF personnel. Police said they have also stationed 27 PCR vans, five Prakhar vans and 107 motorcycles for patrolling.

But traffic across several of Delhi’s arterial stretches is likely to be gridlocked at least till Tuesday.

In southeast and south Delhi, where a large number of processions are expected, traffic police said congestion on the Delhi-Noida Direct Flyway, at Ashram, New Friends Colony, CV Raman Marg, Kalkaji flyover and Outer Ring Road will continue until August 11.

Traffic police said deployment has been increased to ensure vehicles pass through the DND, Sarai Kale Khan underpass and Ghazipur.

A senior police officer from the southern range said: “Till now, we have deployed more than 1,500 personnel to maintain security in the national capital and no incident has taken place. We have been successful in coordinating with the kanwariyas. Though the numbers are set to increase, we are also deploying paramilitary and ensuring no processions take place through residential areas.”