Navratri is the most celebrated festive season in India. There are a lot of cultural programs going on during this time. Considering the festive season, the government has allowed the public, mandaps, and pandals to set up the loudspeakers till midnight from 1st October. The last 2 days of the festive season will be exempted from the loudspeaker system. The decision was taken collectively by the district collectors of the respective locations. Loudspeakers till midnight will not be allowed on the 3rd and the 4th of October in Mumbai.
The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis took the decision on Tuesday, the 27th of September for giving a concession on the use of the loudspeakers till midnight from the 1st of October. The decision will not be applicable on the 3rd and the 4th of October. As the 1st of October is considered an additional day, the loudspeakers till midnight are allowed.Â
The Department of Environment and Climate change has revised the noise pollution rules of 2017, through which the district collectors have been made to announce that an exemption of using loudspeakers on any of the 15 days till midnight will be applicable to the pandals. Out of which, 2 days have been used for the festive season.Â
In the notice, it was further added that there are 13 days of exemption to the usage of loudspeakers. In the festive season, the last 2 days of the festival are exempted from the rule passed down by the district followers. The decision taken by the chief minister and the deputy chief ministers came when the Garba dancers demanded that the loudspeakers should be allowed till midnight at least due to the Navratri celebrations. The loudspeakers can be turned on between 6 am and midnight.
Also, the supreme court has issued a certain set of guidelines for the usage of loudspeakers and also posed restrictions on the same. If the loudspeakers are used in a public place at night, the decibels or the volume has to be reduced. The main thing which has to be kept in mind is that the loudspeakers are not allowed between 10 pm and 6 am (except for the days it is allowed till midnight).
