Karnataka: Kodagu police issues warning against loud DJ music during Ganesh festival

The Kodagu district police have cracked the whip against loud DJ music during the Ganesh festival, and warned that persons responsible for violating the legally permissible noise limit will face strict action.

At a specially convened meeting comprising Ganesh festival committee members at Madikeri recently, Superintendent of Kodagu district police K. Ramarajan ruled out the possibility of the authorities giving the organisers any exemption for allowing the noise levels to go beyond the permissible limit.

Action will be taken as per law against the owners of the sound systems, persons transporting the equipment, and event organisers, said Mr. Ramarajan, while making it clear that cases will be filed against the persons responsible irrespective of their political affiliations.

The use of ‘pressure mid’ in a DJ sound system creates a sound effect that reaches upto 110 decibels, which is very dangerous to our ears and overall health, he cautioned, and appealed against the use of ‘pressure mid’ in the sound systems during the Ganesh festival.

The deafening noise created by sound systems fitted with such devices disturbs patients in hospitals, depriving them of sleep and worsening their condition, Mr. Ramarajan said.

“Safeguarding the sanctity of the festival is everyone’s responsibility. Playing blaring music and shouting is not culture. If we do this, our children will continue with the same,” he said, while cautioning the public against inviting life-long health problems for the sake of one day’s noisy celebrations.

ENT specialist Srikanth, who also participated in the meeting, said that excessive noise can seriously affect heart patients, pregnant women, newborns, and the elderly. “Newborns risk permanent hearing loss. Excessive sound can also cause brain haemorrhage, neurological disorders, cardiac arrest, and even death,” he warned, citing past such instances linked to high-decibel music.

Dr. Srikant explained that daily conversations between human beings are around 65 to 70 decibels. The level goes up to 90 decibels in case of a railway engine or a transformer; however, the noise from a sound system reaches upto 110 to 120 decibels and such high levels can create a perforation or hole in the ear drum of a human, or damage the auditory nerve, he cautioned.