‘Anti-noise campaign in Mumbai bearing fruit now’

On Tuesday, when Awaaz Foundation released noise pollution figures for the 5th day of the Ganesha festival, anti-noise campaigners had reasons to raise a silent cheer.

The figures showed that noise levels for the festival has shown a declining trend. Loudspeakers were fewer, though not completely absent.

So, are our festivals getting quieter? “Yes and no,” said Sumaira Abdulali of the Awaaz Foundation. Abdulali  said though there have substantial victories in the campaign against sound pollution, the gains over the last few years will have to be sustained if the battle against hazardous noise is to be won.

For instance, after the high court order on silent zones, the Navratri festival has largely followed the 10 pm ban on loudspeakers.

Diwali and Ganeshotsav have a patchy record.   Anandini Thakur of the Khar Residents’ Association, said: “I feel that the festival has been quieter; there is less of the blaring noise that the pandals had.”

“There is definitely a downward trend,” said Dr Yeshwant Oke whose writ petitions in the Bombay HC led to the framing of Noise Pollution Rules and demarcation of silence zones. “What we started in 1985 has started bearing fruit,” he said.

Anti-noise activists give much of the credit for the declining noise levels to the police. “Police are now quick while looking at complaints, whether it is about loudspeakers from pandals or from gymkhanas,” said Thakur.

Earlier, anti-noise campaigners faced a lot of opposition from local politicians who tried to make festivals exempt from the sound pollution laws. Oke said he now found politicians co-operative. “A few days ago, I had a discussion with the mayor and corporators of Thane. Many of them told me that they were not aware of the hazards of noise pollution,” said Oke.  

Complaints about noise pollution are now supposed to be filed under the more stringent Environment Protection Act rather than the less strenuous Bombay Police Act where offenders can get away with a fine.