‘Loud’ nightclubs giving sleepless nights to residents

A day after Army Major Abhijeet Singh’s car was allegedly set on fire by five men after the latter objected to loud music being played at 12.30 am at Hotel Milano and Café, the nightclub was sealed by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Tuesday

Often caught flouting civil norms, some nightclubs, especially those in the Gomti Nagar area of Lucknow, have become a nuisance with residents alleging that the city administration chooses to turn a blind eye to the issues.

Hotel Milano and Café, which was sealed by LDA on Tuesday (HT)

An incident on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday proved to be the wake-up alarm for the administration and police, which may now deal with errant commercial establishments, especially those that operate till late in the night, more seriously.

A day after Army Major Abhijeet Singh’s car was allegedly set on fire by five men after the latter objected to loud music being played at 12.30 am at Hotel Milano and Café, the nightclub was sealed by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Tuesday. The five arsonists had been arrested on Monday evening and were booked under various charges of the IPC, including that for rioting. The car was parked outside the major’s residence at the Vishal Khand locality.

A day after the incident, the charred remains of the Major’s car outside his residence and the partially-melted nameplate at the main gate gave a picture of what the army official and his family went through in the wee hours of Monday.

“We were very scared because our gas pipe is just near the gate. If it had caught fire, then the situation could have been very serious,” Major Singh, who is currently deployed with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan, told HT. “My grandchild was sick and that is why the car was parked outside the gate. That is also why we had requested the café to lower the music,” said Sarita Singh, mother of Abhijeet Singh.

Lucknow joint commissioner of police (JCP) Piyush Mordiya said immediate action was taken against Milano. “Police will soon launch a drive with the help of LDA, pollution control board and Lucknow municipal corporation to take action against illegal cafes and others that flout norms in the residential areas,” he added.

Permissible sound limit

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the permissible decibel levels for commercial establishments are set at 65 dB during daytime and 55 dB during night hours.

UC Shukla, the regional officer of UP Pollution Control Board, said, “Following noise complaints, reports are submitted to the administrative bodies and the district magistrate’s office, who then take appropriate action,” he added.

‘Noise pollution part of our daily lives’

Seventy-year-old Indrani Rai, who also lives near café Milano, said: “Most of the people who go to nightclubs are youngsters. They use SUVs and cars and their movement goes on till late in the night. Not just that, but they also make a lot of noise. I am a heart patient and had two stents put in last year. Nuisance because of the nightclubs is a part of our daily lives.”

“In Vivek Khand and other localities of Gomti Nagar, there are numerous illegal cafes and wedding venues. They only heed our request when we call the police, but things go back to how they were a few days later,” Roop Kumar Sharma, secretary of Gomtinagar Vivek Khand, JanKalyan Samiti.