No let up from boom box menace for Delhi

Residents of localities close to Mathura Road and Kalkaji, where popular temples are located, alleged that boom boxes continued to play loudly till as late as 3am

NEW DELHI

Boom boxes on roads near the Kalkaji temple in the run-up to Navratri. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

For a third consecutive day, boom boxes continued to reverberate across south, east and southeast Delhi, continuing to put residents through a harrowing time on Sunday, as truck-mounted loudspeakers belted out devotional songs at deafening levels on the eve of Navratri.

The use of loudspeakers after 10pm is banned through Supreme Court orders nationwide, but Delhi Police appeared to be unable to enforce it with residents saying they were left sleepless with sound so intense that it shook their doors and windows as these vehicles rolled by overnight on Saturday and Sunday. The noise continued in several parts of the city at the time of going to print at midnight.

Deekshita Baruah, a 40-year-old resident of Greater Kailash, said the boom box menace disturbed them till late hours, “We can hear the music well till even 4am. Earlier, we used to make calls to the police but we have given up.”

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said: “Police cut power supply of at least 50 giant speakers mounted on trucks and other vehicles after they were found playing loud music. Police deployment was increased on the Navratri routes on Sunday, as maximum such processions would enter and exit the city.”

Senior police officials did not respond to requests for a comment on the lack of enforcement.

Triveni Mahajan, secretary of the Friends Colony East residents’ welfare association, said that the return of high-volume boom boxes during Navratri has become a matter of serious concern for all residents, particularly senior citizens. She said the RWA has already raised these issues with local authorities and requested the police to implement barricades on Mathura Road to help curb the menace.

“While we fully respect and support the right to celebrate cultural traditions, it is equally important to ensure that such celebrations do not compromise the health, peace, and well-being of residents. Excessive noise is neither an essential part of festivity nor a marker of devotion. We request the Delhi government to impose a ban on boom boxes on vehicles across Delhi, as there is no correlation between noise and festivity. This step would go a long way in balancing cultural expression with the fundamental right of citizens to live in a peaceful environment,” she said.

Chitra Jain, president of New Friends Colony RWA (Ashoka Path), said, “Most of the traffic goes from Mathura Road, but local people from Delhi, who know the routes, take the CV Raman Road, which is in our periphery...This year, people are reporting not seeing police presence, but it should be there, so that they can tell participants to control the volume; especially for routes to important temples such as Kalkaji temple.”

Experts concurred that exposure to boom boxes is a health concern.

Dr Nazim Akhtar, chief scientist at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said that studies show sustained exposure to boom boxes can cause stress, hypertension, sleep disturbance, and temporary or even permanent hearing loss. “There is a dire need for awareness. People don’t realise that honking and exposure to boom boxes—even for a few minutes daily—can lead to temporary hearing loss.”

The use of such devices fall afoul of several regulations. For one, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) permits a maximum noise level of 55dB(A) — equivalent to normal conversation or moderate rainfall — between 6am and 10pm in residential areas. This threshold falls to 45dB(A) from 10pm to 6am. The loudspeakers deployed in these boom boxes are concert-grade, operating potentially 20-40 times louder than the legal residential limits.

The use of moving loudspeakers likely violate the Motor Vehicles Act that outlaws illegal modifications of vehicles --- such as by fitting them with such towering speakers attached with electricity generators.

Sound norms are even more stringent in silent zones around hospitals, with 50dB(A) permitted during the day and 40dB(A) beyond 10pm. But even sections of Mathura Road with hospitals located on them have not been spared.

“In addition to noise pollution, there has been a noticeable increase in traffic due to trucks carrying these boom boxes, which further compounds the inconvenience for residents. These vehicles obstruct smooth movement on already busy roads, creating unnecessary congestion and safety risks,” Mahajan said.

Residents of East Delhi said that this is a repeated concern during the year, starting with the Kanwar Yatra, but alleged that no action is taken against the excesses. They also complained that offences, such as driving mini trucks on the wrong side, triple riding on motorcycles without helmets and blaring music, were becoming commonplace.

“Loud disturbing music is a huge problem in our area, and we keep complaining to the police about it, but there has not been any permanent solution yet,” a 70-year-old resident of Mayur Vihar, who did not wish to be identified, said.