Office-bearers of the eight big mandals had an online meeting, where it was agreed upon that the festival should be low-key this year. Though the festival is some months away, preparations start early. The final-day immersion procession often goes on for more than 24 hours and lakhs of people throng the roads. The Ganesh festival in Pune, which has a tradition going back more than a hundred years, attracts huge crowds. Office-bearers of five `Manache' (revered) Ganpati' - Kasba Ganpati, Tambadi Jogehwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesari Wada - and the trustees of Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati, Bhau Rangari and Akhil Mandai Ganesh Mandals appealed all the mandals (groups) to keep the celebrations simple.
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MPCB spokesperson Sanjay Bhuskute said that among the 19 spots where MPCB monitored sound levels on the first (September 17), second, fifth, seventh and final days of the festival, average levels ranged between 50 and 90 dB. While the festival was noisiest in 2013, when average reading showed levels as high as 114.4 decibels, it was 104.2dB in 2012. Noise levels have been consistently rising during Ganesh festival over the last decade. The average level registered was 96.6 dB.
However, the noise levels dipped after 1.30 am, he said.ĬOEP students monitored noise levels at 10 spots along Laxmi Road – Samadhan chowk, Ganpati chowk, Limbaraj Maharaj chowk, Kunte chowk, Umbrya Ganpati chowk, Gokhale chowk, Shedge Vithoba chowk, Holkar chowk, Tilak Chowk, Khandujibaba chowk. The average recording of levels during that period was 104.1 dB.
At two places along the immersion route (Kunte chowk and Limbaraj Maharaj chowk), it exceeded 100 decibels, according to Dr Mahesh Shindikar, member of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority and assistant professor of applied sciences at COEP who guided the students. In Pune, student volunteers from COEP took readings every four hours during the exercise that started at 12 noon on September 27 and ended at 8 am on September 28.īetween 8 pm and midnight, the noise levels during the immersion procession were deafening. Apart from COEP, MPCB has also been monitoring noise pollution in various cities during the Ganesh festival. Noise has been recognised as an ambient air pollutant.
According to the noise pollution rules, the permissible level during the day is 50 dB in silence zones and 55 dB in residential areas.