7/23/2019 Noise Pollution in Ganesh Utsav

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GANESH CHATURTHI 

In pune Ganesh chaturthi is been celebrated since the time of Chatrapati

Shivaji in !"# $ After that freedom fi%hter &o'man(a Tila' transformed this

reli%ious festival into a )ell or%ani*ed socio +political public event$Ganesh ,estival is the epitome of )isdom- creativit(- harmon( and

 provides opportunit( to the people for the artistic e.pression and creativit(

but unfortunatel( it is no) ta'in% dan%erous dimensions$

/hile thin'in% of this festival -s)eet moda's use to come in m( mind$

 Aarti-pooja- bhajans- shin( idols - decorations etc man( other thin%s$

Since man( (ears the main focus is no) on loud music- lot of %arba%e etc$

Environmental Impacts of Ganesh chaturthi0

/ater pollution

Noise pollution

Soil 1ollution

/e )ill focus on noise pollution

For Indians, making noise is a sign of happiness. For politicians the ability

to make a big noise, by using huge loudspeakers at any opportunity, is asign of strength. Festivals in India have become political battlegrounds as

politicians try to score brownie points over one another by attempting to

host the noisiest festival.

Ganesh chaturthi and many other festivals like diwali , navratri , boost

social %atherin%s and enable the devotees to please their deities throu%h

devotional son%s and observance of fasts$ These occasions become a

source of erosion of mental peace and atmospheric calmness because of

nois( celebrations$ State pollution control boards have been reported to be

%enerall( lenient in monitorin% pollution levels even durin% such events$

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Noise p ollution is a serious health ha*ard and can cause

a%%ression- h(pertension- hi%h stress levels$ Hearin% loss- sleep

disturbances - heart disease- mental illness and other serious effects on

health$

 The State Government of 2aharashtra initiall( notified and as'ed

municipal bodies in the state to demarcate an area of ## metres 344# ft5

around educational institutions- hospitals and courts as silence *ones but

left out the areas surroundin% reli%ious places as silence *ones$

The Indian 2inistr( of Environment and ,orests launched the Real Time

 Ambient Noise 2onitorin% Net)or' in 6# to address the lac' of real7time

data$ Under its first phase- automatic monitorin% stations )ere set up in

seven cities0 8elhi- 2umbai- Chennai- 9an%alore- :ol'ata- H(derabad and

&uc'no)$ The data received from these stations sho)ed that the noise

levels )ere far above permissible limits$ ,or e.ample- commercial areas

reported ;4 d9 in breach of the !< d9 limit- )hereas the entire cit( of

Chennai reported noise levels at over ## d9- promptin% an article in

the Times of India 3April 6=- 6#5 to e>uate livin% in Chennai )ith ?livin% in

a factor(@ 

Noise is been considered a pollutant under the Air Act- ;"$ The Central

1ollution Control 9oard 3C1C95 has notified the ambient noise standards in

;"= under section 6# of the Air Act ;"$The noise standards specif(

limits as <<d9 and B<d9 as limits for da( and ni%ht respectivel( for

residential areas$ ,or silence *ones <# d9 and B< d9 da( and ni%ht

respectivel($

Noise pollution has dra)n a lot of attention and attempts are bein% made

b( NGs and %overnment or%ani*ations to create a)areness on thedan%ers of e.cessive noise$ The noise pollution rules 6### have been

notified on B februra( 6###$ In the state of 2aharashtra- the police

department has been authori*ed for ta'in% le%al action a%ainst defaulters$

8urin% the %anesh festival- noise levels )ere found to be in ran%e of =< d9

to ;# d9$ 

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“Awaa Foundation!, an "G# working on noise pollution in $umbai, was

registered as a public Trust in %&&' but its founder “(umaira Abdulali! had

been measuring noise from most ma)or events in $umbai since the

*ombay +igh ourt #rder of %&&-. In %&&' and every year thereafter, the

Ganpati Festival was permitted until midnight for only - days and the timelimit was strictly implemented.

In %&&, the $aharashtra /ollution ontrol *oard started monitoring noise

levels during the festival season, starting with Ganpati, for the first time.