Pune: The chorus for a DJ-free Ganeshotsav, scheduled for next month, is growing, with the city’s prominent Ganesh mandal — Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganapati — supporting a ban on DJs and high-decibel speakers during the festival. Office-bearers of the mandal said more Ganesh mandals from various parts of the city are likely to join the campaign for a DJ-free festival in the next couple of weeks.Residents and civic activists have been pressing for strict restrictions on the use of high-decibel speakers during the celebrations to prevent inconvenience.Puneet Balan, festival head of Shrimant Bhausaheb Rangari Ganapati, said his mandal was not in favour of loud music.“Pune’s Ganesh festival has a rich cultural tradition and has been well accepted across the country. We have started preparations for this year’s festival, but our mandal will celebrate without loud music that could cause inconvenience to citizens and visitors at our pandal. Playing loud music is not the only way to celebrate the festival,” Balan said.Residents have claimed that only a handful of mandals support DJs and loud music. They have urged Ganesh mandals to take the initiative to stop playing DJs during the festival. City MP Muralidhar Mohol, too, said on Friday that people’s sentiments should be respected and celebrations should be held within the prescribed noise limits.Balan said his mandal was not the only one supporting restrictions on DJs. Several other mandals in the city are also in favour of restricting the use of high-decibel speakers. Around 100 to 150 Ganesh mandals are reportedly supporting the idea of a DJ-free festival and are expected to announce their stand in the next few days.Utsav Ganesh Mitra Mandal, located in Ganjwe Chowk, is also planning to avoid the use of DJs and high-decibel speakers. Its members said they were planning to allocate money towards social causes instead of spending it on loud music.AAP writes to police CP, mayor over high-decibel soundThe city unit of the Aam Aadmi Party has written to the city police commissioner and mayor, seeking clarity on their stand on high-decibel sound during Ganeshotsav.Party leaders said noise pollution norms were not being followed in the city during the festival and urged the police and mayor to take a firm stand to ensure that noise pollution rules are strictly enforced.
