No significant drop in noise levels: College of Engineering Pune

Many mandals were seen using Dolby systems. (Photo/Pavan Khengre)

Despite the ban on sound systems, there was no significant drop in noise levels during the Ganesh immersion procession on Laxmi Road, where noise levels were monitored by the College of Engineering Pune (CoEP), recording an average 90.4 decibel (dB) during the final day of the Ganesh festival. Last year, the corresponding figure was 90.9 dB.
Similar noise levels in both years were attributed mainly to traditional instruments like dhol tasha and zanja played by Ganesh mandals during immersion processions. “However, we did observe a considerable reduction in the physiological and psychological stress due to the ban on Dolby and DJ systems,” Mahesh Shindikar, Assistant Profession of Biology at the Applied Science Department, CoEP, told The Indian Express.
For 17 years now, Shindikar along with his team of students has been conducting the sound-monitoring exercise at 10 locations along Laxmi Road on the concluding days of the Ganesh festival. This year, on September 23 and 24, Shindikar and his team conducted the exercise.
As per noise pollution rules, permissible levels during the day are 50 dB in silence zones and 55 dB in residential areas. While the average noise level at all 10 locations was recorded at 90.4 db, at some locations the sound was deafening. “The overall noise levels are comparable to earlier years. But there is more awareness among people about noise pollution and most avoid prolonged exposure,” Shindikar said.
What MPCB recorded
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) monitored noise levels at 18 locations on five days of the Ganesh festival. According to MPCB data, on September 23, the noise levels were highest at Karve Road — Nul Stop (95.8 dB), Satara Road (92.7 dB), Kothrud (95.9 dB) and Aundh Parihar Chowk (90.7 dB) while the lowest, 74.4 dB, was at University Road. This year, the levels ranged between 70 dB and 95 dB at a majority of locations during the five days where the MPCB measured noise levels.