Nagpur: For the first time in the city’s recent history, Nagpur police have imposed a blanket ban on towering Dolby and other high-capacity sound systems during the festive season, triggering resistance even before the order comes into force. Several Dahi Handi organisers have indicated that they will defy police commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil’s directive and use DJ sound systems during celebrations scheduled between September 4 and September 6, setting the stage for a direct confrontation between festival committees and law enforcement agencies.In a sweeping order issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the police commissioner has prohibited use of Dolby systems with top, mid and bass configurations, plasma sound systems, pressure-mid systems and vehicles specially modified to mount or transport such equipment. The restriction will remain in force from midnight of September 3 till November 1, covering the city’s busiest festival period.The order comes ahead of a packed calendar of celebrations, including Gokulashtami, Dahi Handi, Pola, Tanha Pola, Tajuddin Baba Chhabbisavi, Ganeshotsav, Dhammachakra Pravartan Din and Durga Devi festivities. Traditionally, many of these processions, especially Ganesh idol arrivals and immersion rallies, have relied heavily on massive multi-speaker Dolby setups that have become a defining feature of public celebrations in Nagpur.Police have justified the unprecedented move by citing concerns over noise pollution, traffic disruption, public safety and potential law-and-order issues. The order specifically refers to the growing practice of stacking speakers in multiple layers on trucks and other modified vehicles to create giant sound walls. According to police, apart from breaching permissible noise limits, such vehicles pose accident risks and often become flashpoints for disputes among organisers, political groups and enforcement agencies.The police commissioner has also invoked provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, noting that high-capacity sound systems frequently exceed prescribed sound limits.However, even as police prepare for strict enforcement, opposition to the ban has begun surfacing. Organisers of several Dahi Handi events scheduled over the next three days have reportedly decided to use DJ bands despite the order, arguing that music systems are an integral part of the celebrations and that festive enthusiasm would be dampened without them. The stance has raised the possibility of action against organisers if they proceed with plans to deploy prohibited equipment.The order exempts sound systems operating within permissible noise limits. Police have directed owners of the prohibited equipment and modified vehicles, along with festival organisers and mandals, to keep them sealed and unused during the restricted period.With Nagpur witnessing its first city-wide crackdown on high-powered festival sound systems, the coming days are likely to test both the administration’s resolve to enforce the ban and organisers’ willingness to comply, beginning with the Dahi Handi celebrations that mark the start of the festive season.
