In Pune, noise pollution debate raises the pitch ahead of Ganesh festival

When 37-year-old Pune resident Vidyanand Bapat last month publicly criticised the noise and traffic obstructions during the Ganesh festival, he struck a raw nerve.

Ever since freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak transformed the Ganeshotsav into a public celebration in 1893 to circumvent a colonial ban on assembly, it has become Pune’s signature event.

During the ten-day festival honouring the birth of the elephant-headed deity, Pune fills up with elaborate pandals housing Ganesh idols. Dhol tasha drum groups parade through the streets. There are plays about the 17th-century warrior king Shivaji. Religious songs and prayers echo from stacks of loudspeakers.

At a preparatory meet for Ganeshotsav called by the Pune Municipal Corporation on August 24, Bapat spoke angrily about how the music played by loudspeakers is a burden for residents. “The loudspeakers on stands play all through the 10 days,” he said. “On the last two days, they are played 24 hours.”

He caused a furore. Other participants tried to shout him down. In videos, some can be heard telling him to get out of Pune if he has a problem. The police had to escort Bapat out of the meeting.

Bapat – a Brahmin who speaks in chaste Marathi, given to quoting Sanskrit texts – has become the unlikely spokesperson for longstanding grievances about noise pollution during the festival.

After all,...

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