In a bid to ease vehicular movement on the highways in the district, Pune rural police have decided to take action against marriage lawns and halls if their owners allow music to be blared through DJ consoles. Cops have planned to launch a drive in the next couple of days at various places, particularly areas close to Pune.
Police said the decision was taken after cops were flooded with complaints of loud music, even though the police had issued guidelines to property owners last week.
Rural police have issued orders to all 33 police stations to take necessary action against owners who completely disregard laws pertaining to sound levels. Vijaykumar Magar, additional SP (Pune rural), said, “Police stations have been asked to book cases under the Noise Pollution Act. We will not only seize the sound system and vehicle, but will also take action against errant organisers.”
As many as five national and state highways (Pune-Ahmednagar, Pune- Mumbai, Pune-Solapur, Pune-Satara and Pune Nashik) have often witnessed traffic chaos and congestion due to marriage processions.
Deputy SP (Khed) Sanjaykumar Patil told Mirror that Khed police met some marriage-hall owners over the issue. “We asked them to inform the police if a concerned party did not pay heed to their request to keep the decibel levels low,” Patil added. API Kumar Kadam, Alandi PS incharge, said, “There are around 700 small and large-sized marriage halls in Alandi. We do not allow loud music to be played in the internal roads. Upon receiving complaints, we take action against owners of these DJ consoles.”
However, owners of these establishments pointed out that they are not directly involved in the blaring of music through DJ consoles in a marriage procession. “We inform the concerned party about the rules, but not everyone takes it seriously. People think that their happiness is being curtailed when the concerned law is imposed,” said Sanjay Aawate, who owns a marriage hall on the Mumbai-Ahmednagar highway.
Commuters seemed to have welcomed this move. Satish Bhadale, who works in a private firm at Chakan and travels on the Mumbai-Ahmednagar road every day, said, “Processions with DJ consoles create traffic chaos for no reason. It is quite inconvenient, especially in the summers.”
Source: Punemirror
