Bengal CM Adhikari orders strict action against loudspeakers violating noise limits at religious places

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday directed the police to take strict action against the use of loudspeakers beyond permissible sound limits at religious places and events across the state, officials said.

At a meeting with senior police officers in the state secretariat 'Nabanna', the chief minister stressed that noise pollution regulations must be enforced without exception and warned against any laxity in their implementation.

For years, residents in several parts of the state had complained about loudspeakers emitting high-decibel sound during festivals and religious events, often continuing beyond permitted hours and causing inconvenience to patients, students and elderly people.

“A clear instruction has been issued that loudspeakers at religious places cannot operate beyond the prescribed decibel limits. Police have been asked to act firmly in case of violations,” a senior police officer present at the meeting told PTI.

According to another bureaucrat in the state secretariat, the state government has now decided to tighten enforcement of existing noise pollution regulations.

Under the guidelines laid down by environmental authorities, loudspeakers in residential areas are permitted up to 55 decibels during the daytime. It is 45 decibels at night. Most religious places are situated in residential localities. In industrial and commercial zones, the permitted limit is slightly higher.

Although a relaxation of up to 65 decibels during special festivals and occasions had been allowed earlier, the new administration is pushing for stricter compliance with sound regulations, sources said.

“The chief minister repeatedly emphasised that no religious institution should use loudspeakers at excessive volume. Police have been instructed to initiate legal action wherever rules are violated,” the cop said.

Adhikari was sworn in as the chief minister on May 9, after the BJP came to power in the state for the first time.

Officials said district police units are likely to intensify monitoring during upcoming religious events and festivals to ensure adherence to prescribed sound limits.