Laws on mute as Kanwar boomboxes deafen Delhi

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) permits a maximum noise level in residential areas of 55dB(A) between 6am and 10pm.

Delhi residents faced renewed noise pollution woes Saturday night as kanwariyas passed through the city playing loud music from boombox-laden vehicles, with police remaining largely inactive despite clear breaches of sound regulations.

Kanwariyas carrying boomboxes in Ghaziabad on Saturday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The problem is only set to worsen over Sunday and Monday, when the yatra picks up, according to officials. A total of 374 camps have been set up for kanwariyas in the city — in some parts, they have been set up in front of hospitals, raising annual concerns regarding the boombox menace.

Despite police and other enforcement agencies launching measures to ensure that boomboxes are not played above permissible levels, residents say that blasting of devotional music at deafening volumes on the city’s streets, often through the night, is hardly reined in by the authorities on the ground.

Asha Puri, a 65-year-old resident of Raja Garden in west Delhi whose residence is on the Shivaji Marg- Najafgarh Road, said,“It’s been manageable so far but once the Yatra starts in Delhi, it becomes concerning for us. We can’t sleep in peace as the music is so loud. When we complain to the police, they throw their hands up in the air. Sometimes, police tell Kanwariyas to lower the volume but that’s all.”

“There’s absolute lawlessness on the roads on these days. They are extremely unregulated and police don’t touch them at all. They don’t stop their trucks playing boomboxes,” a 78-year-old resident of Vasant Vihar said.

Chitra Jain, president, New Friends Colony (NFC) RWA Ashoka Park, said that even though her house is not on the main road, the impact of boomboxes can be felt on the window panes. “We are hoping that this year there will be some control on the decibel level of these boomboxes,” she said.

Triveni Mahajan, secretary, Friends Colony East, pointed out the irony. “Festivals meant to inspire inner peace now create anxiety, with blaring loudspeakers playing music through the night and roads choked with traffic. Elderly, children, and those in poor health suffer the most. It’s time the authorities ensured that religious fervour does not override the need for peace in residential areas”.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) permits a maximum noise level in residential areas of 55dB(A) between 6am and 10pm. This threshold falls to 45dB(A) from 10pm till 6am. Db(A), or a weighted decibel, is a measure of how loud something sounds to the human ear. For loudspeakers, the rules mandate that the noise level at the boundary of the public place where a loudspeaker or public address system is being used shall not exceed by more than 10dB(A) the noise standards for the area or 75dB(A), whichever is lower.

“Boom boxes with blaring music and modification of vehicles are not allowed as pet the Motor Vehicle Act. Special permission can be taken from police but even in such cases, the noise levels cannot go beyond the permissible limits. For most of these events and processions, no permission is taken...,” said a transport department official.

A Delhi Police officer, on condition of anonymity, said that they’ll install pickets at key points to ensure that boombox- laden trucks do not cross after 10pm. “Trucks with boomboxes will be stopped and challaned. They will not be allowed after 10pm, and the volume has to be in permissible limits even before 10pm,” the officer said.

Traffic snarls likely

According to Delhi Traffic Police, kanwariyas are entering Delhi through Ghazipur, Maharajpur, Apsara, Bhopura, Loni, and Kalindi Kunj borders from Ghaziabad and Noida. They are passing through arterial roads, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, NH-9, Mathura Road, Outer Ring Road, Aurobindo Marg, and Mehrauli-Gurugram Road.

While traffic congestion has already started on routes like Noida–Kalindi Kunj, severe jams are expected till at least Wednesday, especially along GT Road, Wazirabad Road, NH-9, Ring Road near Sarai Kale Khan, Mathura Road between Ashram Chowk and Badarpur, Chirag Delhi-IIT flyovers, Aurobindo Marg, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, and NH-48 near Dhaula Kuan and Mahipalpur. Snarls are also expected at Nangloi-Najafgarh Road, Rohtak Road, Outer Ring Road in west Delhi, Rani Jhansi Road, Boulevard Road, Azad Market Chowk, NH-44 towards Singhu border, and Gokalpuri flyover, Anand Vihar, and Ghazipur in east Delhi.