Residents hope it’s the last time

Anti-noise activists and Shivaji Park residents association are not happy with the high court’s conditional permission to the Shiv Sena to hold its annual Dusshera rally at Shivaji Park.

Anti-noise activists and Shivaji Park residents association are not happy with the high court’s conditional permission to the Shiv Sena to hold its annual Dusshera rally at Shivaji Park.

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This will be the third consecutive year the Sena has been allowed to the rally at the ground, despite the high court (HC) declaring it as a silence zone through an interim order in May 2010.

“After giving the party respite for two years in a row, the court should have asked them to move to a different venue this year.

In the past two years, the Sena rally has violated noise pollution norms and cases are still pending in court,” said Sumaira Abdulali, convenor, Awaaz Foundation, a non-government organisation. “But it is a relief that the court has asked the Sena to use distributed sound system that will mitigate the sound. This will be the first time such systems will be used at political rallies.”

The court has asked Awaaz Foundation to monitor noise levels at the rally.

Shivaji Park residents hope that this is the last year the Sena is allowed to hold the rally at the ground.