Yesterday was the final day of the Ganesh Festival, in
previous years continuing till all hours of the
morning with drums and loudspeakers and causing
tremendous noise  pollution.

Following the recent Supreme Court Order, in the
earlier days of Ganpati this year, noise levels were
kept low. In many places, loudspeakers were not used,
and where they were it was at low volumes. The Ganpati
mandals and the Police co operated to achieve this.

We measured noise levels at various points in Mumbai
yesterday including the routes taken by processsions
and immersion points. These included locations at
Juhu, Dadar, Shivaji Park, Haji Ali, Girgaon and
Mahalaxmi.  We found that most of the processions did
not carry loudspeakers. Most of those which did had
them at low volumes which did not  carry far.

At the immersion points, loudspeakers, firecrackers
and musical instruments were not being permitted by
the Police.

The roads leading to immersion points had loudspeakers
placed strategically which were used by the Police for
controlling the crowd. Noise levels remained at
between 80-87dB constantly while this was the case.

Loudspeakers were also used by political parties to
welcome devotees along the Girgaon immersion route.
These reached levels of 90dB. Certain processions
flying the flags of political parities carried
loudspeakers and drums, and exceeded 95dB. These were
the exception.

At 10pm precisely, the Police shut down their own
loudspeakers and all musical instruments at Girgaon.
At Juhu, this happened a little later, at about
10.30pm. Immersions continued but without
loudspeakers.

The Police deserve to be complimented for their
exemplary management of a difficult situation. I do
hope that people will write and express their
appreciation to them.

Thanks to their hard work and excellent management, we
have finally seen that it is possible to have a quiet
festival season without in any way interfering in the
enjoyment of the festivities. I hope this will set a
precedent which will be followed by all.

Sumaira Abdulali
sumairaabdulali@yahoo.com