Five booked for violation of permissible sound limits during Ganesha festival in Kushalnagar

The Kodagu district police, which had already issued a warning against violating the legally permissible sound limits during the Ganesha festival, has booked five people for using sound system equipment exceeding the prescribed decibel limits in Kushalnagar town on Sunday.

A statement said sound systems with pressure mid-speakers emitting high frequency sound in the range of 110 to 120 decibels were used during the immersion of Ganapathi idol on August 31 in the jurisdiction of Kushalnagar Town police station.

Though the local police officers and staff on bundobust duty cautioning the organisers against using such high decibel sound systems, the pressure mid-speakers were used, the statement said.

Pointing out that the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000 do not permit the use of sound system equipment exceeding the prescribed decibel limits, the Kodagu police has booked the drivers of five vehicles that used these sound systems.

Cases had been booked against them under Sections 285 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act and Sections 36 and 109 of the Karnataka Police Act.

“The pressure mid-speakers used in the immersion programme and the five vehicles have been seized,” the statement said.

Superintendent of Police K. Ramarajan, in a statement, has appealed to the public not to use any type of sound system equipment that emits sound levels beyond the decibel limits prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000.

It may be mentioned here that the Kodagu district police had convened a meeting of Ganesh festival committee members in Madikeri recently and cautioned them against violating the legally permissible noise limits. He had ruled out any possibility of giving the organisers any exemption for allowing the noise levels to go beyond the permissible limits.

The use of such high decibel sound sytem was very dangerous to the ears and overall health, he said.