Delhi Pollution Control Committee data shows locations in east Delhi, a Kanwar route, are the worst impacted, with Shahdara recording the highest decibel levels.
Decibel levels have shot up in the capital over the past few days as a steady stream of kanwariyas with boomboxes mounted on trucks make their way through the city for their annual pilgrimage.
Despite the noise levels exceeding permissible levels, the Delhi Police and traffic police have done little; officers said they feared interventions would lead to a law and order situation.
Data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed locations in east Delhi on the Kanwar Yatra route are the worst impacted, with Shahdara recording the highest decibel levels.
On Tuesday, the 16-hour average decibel levels between 6 am and 10 pm were recorded at 87.5 dB(A), followed by an average of 75.6 dB(A) at the Karni Singh shooting range – an otherwise relatively quiet area. The average at the National Stadium in the heart of the city was at 72.5 decibels, followed by the west Delhi route along Karol Bagh (71.6 decibels) and Pusa (69.6 decibels), the other impacted locations
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) permits a maximum noise level in residential areas of 55dB(A) between 6am and 10pm. This threshold falls to 45dB(A) from 10pm till 6am – making it a clear violation of noise norms.
The situation did improve much during the night either. Shahdara recorded an average decibel level of 85 between 10 pm on Tuesday and 6 am on Wednesday, nearly two times the permissible limits, as windows shook from the constant noise blaring from boomboxes, even as the traffic police and Delhi Police failed to take any action. Vivek Vihar, in east Delhi, was the second loudest location in the city in the same period, recording average decibel levels of 66.6, followed by Kashmere Gate (66.1 decibels)
“Even at 2 am, speakers are on full volume, with authorities not stopping any of these trucks passing by. Our windows constantly vibrate,” said 59-year-old B.S. Vohra, the president of the East Delhi Residents’ Welfare Associations’ (RWA) joint front. “The situation is terrible for residents living in east Delhi near the main roads. While residents do not have a problem with the yatra itself, the noise – particularly at night – is something that should be regulated by authorities. Even firecrackers are being burst at night,” Vohra added.
The situation remained equally bad on Wednesday, as the kanwariyas made their way through the city on the last day of the pilgrimage – Shivratri day (July 23).
From 6 am, the average decibel levels remained over 80 in east Delhi’s Shahdara and Vivek Vihar, with these hovering around 79 decibels at Tughlakabad and 74.3 decibels at Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi, data showed
The DPCC has 31 stations spread out across the city that monitor noise. Real-time monitoring data was available from 23 stations, out of which 17 were exceeding noise norms. These stations are spread throughout the city.
Residents staying along the route of these processions complained of sleepless nights.
“I slept for less than a couple of hours last night. The trucks have pretty much been blaring loud, booming music throughout the night. It was loud at 2am, at 6am, and at 10am. The windows, and even doors, have been rattling. I’m moving out of my home for a couple of nights,” said a 30-year-old media professional, who lives in Masjid Moth Phase 1 – along the Outer Ring Road.
Atul Goyal, who heads URJA, an apex body of over 2,500 RWAs in Delhi, described it as a ‘total failure of policing’ in the city. “This just shows noise norms only exist on paper. At any other event, loudspeakers shut down after 10 pm, whereas here, we are seeing loudspeakers being used in the middle of the road till 2 or 3 am. The yatra processions can proceed even without speakers, and that is something the police could have easily regulated,” Goyal said, stating several RWAs across the city have been ringing him non-stop to raise this issue. “Residents are not being able to sleep at all.”
While a few videos online show traffic police meekly requesting kanwariyas to lower the volume, residents say this tokenism means nothing on the ground. “They remove the plugs, but these are plugged back in within minutes and the procession rolls on like nothing happened,” said another local resident along Karol Bagh.
