Pune Gears Up For Ganesh Visarjan: MPCB And CoEP To Monitor Noise Levels Across 25 Locations
Pune Gears Up For Ganesh Visarjan: MPCB And CoEP To Monitor Noise Levels Across 25 Locations
As Pune prepares for the grand Ganesh Visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi, which will take place on Tuesday, September 17, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) are set to monitor noise pollution across 25 locations in the city. This joint initiative aims to control excessive noise levels from traditional dhol-tasha groups and disc-jockey (DJ) systems during the immersion procession, an annual cause of concern for the authorities.
MPCB will monitor noise at 15 locations, with a focus on the key routes of the Ganesh Visarjan procession. CoEP will concentrate its efforts on 10 locations along Laxmi Road and adjoining areas. The noise monitoring will start at 7 AM on Tuesday and continue until 8 AM on Wednesday, September 18.
J. Salunkhe, Regional Officer of MPCB Pune, stated, “Our teams will be stationed at pre-determined locations to measure noise levels throughout the procession. Should any Ganesh mandals exceed permissible noise limits, we will immediately notify the police for intervention. Necessary actions will be taken as per National Green Tribunal (NGT) norms if there is non-compliance.”
The suburban areas, including Pimpri-Chinchwad, will also be covered as part of this monitoring exercise. Mahesh Shindikar, Head of the Applied Sciences and Humanities Department at CoEP, said, “For over 15 years, our students have been monitoring noise levels during the Ganesh Visarjan procession as part of academic research. This year, we will continue monitoring in the busiest areas like Laxmi Road.”
Certain areas, such as Kothrud, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Camp, Kondhwa, Sahakarnagar, and Swargate, are expected to see high noise levels during the day. Local citizens’ group Pune Samvad is encouraging residents to report noise violations through the emergency number 112, so that authorities can act swiftly to mitigate excessive noise pollution.
Additionally, Pune police will be equipped with calibrated noise monitoring instruments to ensure compliance with the NGT’s orders. Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Shreedhar said, “We are prepared to track noise levels across various parts of the city during the immersion procession and will do our best to ensure adherence to the set guidelines.”
The Ganesh Visarjan procession, which draws hundreds of Ganesh mandals every year, takes a route through key city roads including Lakshmi Road, Kelkar Road, Kumthekar Road, and Tilak Road, leading to the river for immersion. Despite multiple guidelines from the Mumbai High Court and NGT, previous years have seen noise levels significantly surpass the permissible limits due to loud DJ systems and traditional drum groups. This year, authorities are focused on stricter enforcement to keep noise pollution in check during the festive celebrations.
