‘It’s in Pune’s heart’: SC stays NGT order capping size of ‘dhol-tasha’ groups in Ganesh festival
To curb noise pollution, the National Green Tribunal had restricted each troupe to 30 members.
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The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a National Green Tribunal order restricting the size of dhol-tasha groups participating in the Ganapati festival in Pune to 30 members, PTI reported.
Dhol-tasha is a musical performance that makes use of dhols, which are large double-headed drums, and tashas, which are smaller percussion instruments.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notice to the state government on the matter.
“Let them do their dhol-tasha, it’s in the heart of Pune!” Chandrachud remarked verbally, according to Live Law.
Lawyer Amit Pai, representing the appellant Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust, told the bench that dhol-tasha has had a deep cultural significance in Pune for more than a century and that it was started by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust is a performing arts group based in Pune.
The tribunal’s order issued on August 30, 2024, will “seriously affect the troupes” who practice dhol-tasha, Pai contended.
To curb noise pollution, the tribunal’s western zone bench had directed the Pune Police to ensure that the total number of members in each dhol-tasha group did not exceed 30.
The appellant had sought an urgent hearing of the case on Thursday, with Ganesh Chaturthi festivities having already commenced on September 7.
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