As loud as chainsaw at close range? Kanwar Yatra boomboxes deafen Delhi above permitted limits, law on mute

Loudspeaker volumes at Kanwar Yatra rest camps in east Delhi are reaching levels comparable to a chainsaw at close range, significantly exceeding legal noise limits and causing disturbance in residential areas. Investigations using an HT sound meter registered peaks of 110 decibels at two rest camps as convoy trucks equipped with loudspeakers passed by.

These levels are more than 30 decibels above the legal ceiling for noise in residential areas. Even when the convoy trucks were not actively passing, the ambient noise at the camps consistently measured between 80 and 88 decibels. This is between 25 and 33 decibels higher than the 55-decibel daytime limit set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for residential zones. Due to the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale, an 85-decibel reading carries approximately a thousand times the sound intensity of the legal limit.

The Kanwar Yatra has been ongoing for over a week, with Saturday marking one of the three peak days, leading to an increased flow of participants through the city. The trucks, a prominent feature of the yatra, have been a constant presence. Investigations on Friday evening at a camp near the Dilshaad Garden metro station on Grand Trunk Road recorded peaks of 109.3 decibels as boombox trucks passed. A similar reading of 109.4 decibels was noted at another camp on Delhi-Haridwar Road near the Mandawali-West Vinod Nagar metro station.

Even late on Saturday, well after the nationwide 10 pm curfew for loudspeakers, noise levels remained high, with peaks reaching 89.5 decibels near Kalkaji around 11:35 pm, while the average persisted around 75 decibels. Delhi Traffic Police has designated eight Kanwar corridors along major city roads, with 308 rest camps established along these routes. Eastern Delhi hosts the highest concentration, with 120 camps. Residential areas adjacent to these routes are directly impacted by the noise from the convoys. The CPCB rules stipulate ambient noise limits of 55 decibels between 6 am and 10 pm and 45 decibels at night in residential areas, with a further hard limit of 75 decibels for loudspeakers at the boundary of public places.