Nagpur: Former Nagpur mayor Sandip Joshi, a close aide of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, condemned the attack on DJ ban activist Vidyanand Bapat in Pune, saying such incidents will only strengthen their resolve to advocate a complete ban on high-decibel music systems.The former MLC, along with a group of doctors, social activists and religious leaders, has started a campaign to stop the use of not only DJ but also laser lights during festivities. Just hours before Joshi addressed the media on Thursday evening, Nagpur city police issued an order banning the use of DJ and laser lights till Nov 1.Joshi said, “The attack on Bapat is an act of cowardice by those who started feeling insecure. The more such attacks happen, the greater our resolve will be to push for a mass movement to ban on all DJ setup use. People must not paint our initiative with a communal colour, because we want such a ban to be in effect across the year. The only difference is that I am beginning this change from my home and hope it spreads everywhere.”The cops’ ban has given legal backing to Joshi’s demands which were more of an appeal. Joshi said, “We are happy that the administration sees our point of view but we want this ban to go way beyond Nov 1. Cops do not have the power to issue year-long bans, so I expect there will be an extension to their order.”Joshi said the campaign began two days ago with an online petition seeking public support for a permanent ban on DJ and laser lights, which had already drawn an overwhelming response from citizens. He said this was only the first of eight planned phases, stressing that the movement would not remain confined to social media alone but would be built up in a phased manner to secure wide public participation.As the second phase, a memorandum backed by citizens’ signatures and public support would be submitted to Nagpur collector, Nagpur Municipal Corporation commissioner, Nagpur police commissioner and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on Friday. Joshi said this would be followed by an awareness drive through social media, videos and posters to explain the health and civic costs of DJ noise and laser light misuse, with doctors, health experts and sound experts to be roped in for the campaign in a larger capacity going forward.Joshi said letters would also be sent to all MLAs, corporators and office-bearers of political parties in Nagpur, seeking their support in pushing for a permanent ban. Organisers of Ganesh mandals and other festival committees across the city would be approached directly with the message “celebrate big, but not loud,” he said.The testimonies and support collected from citizens would be compiled to give the campaign the shape of a broader public movement, sustained through continuous follow-up with the govt and the administration, he said.
