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Delhi residents flag boombox menace
Residents complain about loud religious processions during Navaratri, disrupting sleep and violating noise regulations, despite police presence.
New Delhi: As the nine-day Navaratri festival began on Thursday, residents on routes connecting key temples complained that unchecked religious processions at night with blaring boomboxes are putting them through a harrowing time.
A resident of Mayur Vihar phase-1, pocket- 4, on the condition of anonymity, said, “At Mayur Vihar-Noida link flyover on Wednesday, around 9:30pm, on my way back home, I found a procession with a cart installed with five to six loudspeakers. The sound was so loud that I could feel the vibrations on my bike.”
He said the cart was moving so slowly that it took him several minutes to pass the procession.
Secretary of Resident Welfare Association (RWAs) Friends Colony, Triveni Mahajan, said that although the boombox wasn’t there in the procession that passed near her residence, the music was extremely loud. “The boombox, fortunately, wasn’t there, but the music was extremely loud. The police were there, and the volume was a bit under control. But even that volume was unbearable as in my locality, several elderly people live,” she added.
The use of loudspeakers after 10pm is banned nationwide through the Supreme Court orders. 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. Sound norms are even more stringent in silent zones around hospitals, with 50dB(A) permitted during the day and 40dB(A) after 10 pm.
The loudspeakers in these boomboxes are concert-grade, potentially operating 20-40 times louder than the legal residential limits.
Arush Das, a Class 12 student and resident of IP Extension, Patparganj, said his sleep was disrupted by the loud, vibrating noise of a procession that passed just a few steps from his balcony-facing room. The loud music also troubled his pet dog, leaving both of them restless and sleepless for hours.
“Around 3am, I had to wake up as the noise from the procession was extremely loud. My room is right next to the balcony overlooking the road. The sound was so intense that even my dog woke up and became agitated. We ended up staying awake for nearly 2–3 hours,” Das said.
He said his Biology board exam is on March 27 and is worried that such possession will affect his studies.
A resident of Pandav Nagar, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “My house is away from the main road, but I could still hear the music being played.”
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said personnel are deployed at key routes and are ensuring that the procession adheres to the permissible sound limit and converses with minimal traffic disruption.
“Personnel are deployed in sufficient numbers on the routes, especially NH-9 and Delhi-Meerut Expressway and checking trucks fitted with boomboxes. The organisers and participants are being asked to adhere to the permissible sound limit. We cut the cables of music systems that do not pay any heed to our requests,” the officer said.
