Nagpur: City police chief Amitesh Kumar has started a dialogue with religious heads of different institutions to enforce the rules related to the usage of loudspeakers, including enforcing the silent hours between 10 pm and 6 am.
Adopting an apolitical and secular approach, Kumar has declared a citywide drive against all use of loudspeakers, cracking the whip on marriage venues, bands and DJ parties, musicals, and other events from next week. “If any private organizations, group, or individual wants to use loudspeakers then they have to follow the rules pertaining to sound or noise or be prepared to face action,” said the top cop. He and Joint CP Aswati Dorje, Addl CP Navinchandra Reddy, DCP Special branch Basavraj Teli and others are holding talks with various religious and political groups over the loudspeaker issue.
Kumar said around 60-70 applications from various religious institutions have reached the city police seeking permission for use of loudspeakers. “In order to tackle the loudspeaker issue peacefully, city police top brass has started inviting different institutional heads from various communities to exchange opinions regarding loudspeaker usage, and permitting them only within the legal framework,” he said.
“Police are now only appealing to people cordially, but would not hesitate to act if even a single stone is pelted anywhere. No group can maliciously reach out to another without police intervening,” said the CP.
Kumar also said certain norms, like silent hours, may pose a challenge for certain religious rituals in the wee hours of the day, but laws would be enforced over a period of time in a phased manner. “Police are discussing religious issues with different groups and trying to find a way out of each situation. Law would prevail but we are appealing to all for cooperation. All the religious places need loudspeakers and everyone would face some issues without them, but police would be firmly enforcing the law,” said Kumar during an informal media interaction.
The city police top brass has appealed to the masses to restrict the use of loudspeakers, fit them within the guidelines and norms set by the Supreme Court verdicts, and sound and noise pollution rules put into place by enactments.
