Thane: Thane’s first day of Ganpati idol immersion was marked by deafening processions on Tuesday, with noise levels touching 100 decibels (dB) at key immersion points late night, anti-noise activist Mahesh Bedekar said.Bedekar, who recorded the noise levels across several points in Thane city, said the use of DJs and Dolby systems accompanying processions between 8.30pm and 11pm had fallen by about 20% compared with previous years. However, sound amplifiers, banjos and multiple drums continued to fuel the cacophony, he said.“The highest readings of 95-100 dB were recorded around 11pm near the immersion site on Ram Maruti Road. The spike was mostly due to multiple sound amplifiers, DJs and drums,” Bedekar said, adding that police presence and traffic arrangements had failed to deter noise violations during the monitoring period.The district administration has appealed residents to avoid use of Dolby DJ sound systems and comply by the noise limit norms.Meanwhile, 20,703 idols were immersed across Thane city, including nearly 9,600 clay idols. Thane Municipal Corporation said the number of clay idols and adoption of eco-friendly celebrations had increased from last year.However, environmental activists Prashant Sinkar and Vijay Katti, disputed the claim, pointing to poor turnout at the artificial immersion ponds in Kopri and questioning the expenditure on them if devotees continued to favour natural water bodies.
