Noise limits near silence zones were breached on Saturday night during Gauri Visarjan, according to anti-noise activists who recorded levels in Mumbai and Thane.
Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation and Dr. Mahesh Bedekar have written to Mumbai Commissioner of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar and Thane Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh pointing out that decibel limits were broken at various places on Saturday night. Violations included use of noise-making instruments in silence zones such as Nair Hospital, even with the police present. “Use of metal plates produced the most noise, always exceeding 110 decibels (dB), while plastic membrane drums produced over 100 dB of noise,” the duo said in their letter.
“The highest noise level was at a political party booth. Complaints to policemen on the road and the Police Control Room met with unsatisfactory responses and no action,” the letter stated.
