Pune: Many mandals in the city used loudspeakers on Saturday evening to celebrate the Dahi Handi festival, prompting Pune police officials to use decibel meters to monitor sound levels. Police took readings at 1,100 spots across the city.Deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale told TOI on Sunday that police officials from the core area of the city and the Deccan-Shivajinagar areas took decibel readings at various Dahi Handi mandals.So far, police have registered only one FIR, with more cases expected to be registered soon.“Our teams are studying the decibel violations. Once this is done, we will file cases against mandals that used loudspeakers to play music or produce sound above the permissible limit of 65 decibels,” Rawale said.Police recorded videos while taking decibel readings in the presence of mandal members.Readings were taken in Warje, Kothrud, Sinhagad Road, Katraj, Kondhwa, Hadapsar, Yerawada, Kharadi, Khadki, Baner and the core city. A majority of the mandals are concentrated in the Peth areas where high-pitched speakers are common.Residents, however, told TOI that sound levels this year were far lower than those during last year’s celebrations.“Mandals used four top and four base loudspeakers. At some places, where mandals had set up walls of loudspeakers, police personnel told them to remove the extra speakers before the celebrations began,” a resident of Hadapsar said.
