GANESH CHATURTHI

In pune Ganesh chaturthi is been celebrated since the time of Chatrapati

Shivaji in 1680 . After that freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak transformed this
religious festival into a well organized socio political public event.
Ganesh Festival is the epitome of wisdom, creativity, harmony and
provides opportunity to the people for the artistic expression and creativity
but unfortunately it is now taking dangerous dimensions.
While thinking of this festival ,sweet modaks use to come in my mind.
Aarti,pooja, bhajans, shiny idols , decorations etc many other things.
Since many years the main focus is now on loud music, lot of garbage etc.
Environmental Impacts of Ganesh chaturthi:
Water pollution
Noise pollution
Soil Pollution
We will focus on noise pollution
For Indians, making noise is a sign of happiness. For politicians the ability
to make a big noise, by using huge loudspeakers at any opportunity, is a
sign of strength. Festivals in India have become political battlegrounds as
politicians try to score brownie points over one another by attempting to
host the noisiest festival.
Ganesh chaturthi and many other festivals like diwali , navratri , boost
social gatherings and enable the devotees to please their deities through
devotional songs and observance of fasts. These occasions become a
source of erosion of mental peace and atmospheric calmness because of
noisy celebrations. State pollution control boards have been reported to be
generally lenient in monitoring pollution levels even during such events.

Noise pollution is a serious health hazard and can cause

aggression, hypertension, high stress levels. Hearing loss, sleep
disturbances , heart disease, mental illness and other serious effects on
health.
The State Government of Maharashtra initially notified and asked
municipal bodies in the state to demarcate an area of 100 metres (330 ft)
around educational institutions, hospitals and courts as silence zones but
left out the areas surrounding religious places as silence zones.

The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests launched the Real Time
Ambient Noise Monitoring Network in 2011 to address the lack of real-time
data. Under its first phase, automatic monitoring stations were set up in
seven cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and
Lucknow. The data received from these stations showed that the noise
levels were far above permissible limits. For example, commercial areas
reported 93 dB in breach of the 65 dB limit, whereas the entire city of
Chennai reported noise levels at over 100 dB, prompting an article in
the Times of India (April 27, 2011) to equate living in Chennai with living in
a factory!
Noise is been considered a pollutant under the Air Act, 1981. The Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has notified the ambient noise standards in
1987 under section 20 of the Air Act 1981.The noise standards specify
limits as 55dB and 45dB as limits for day and night respectively for
residential areas. For silence zones 50 dB and 45 dB day and night
respectively.
Noise pollution has drawn a lot of attention and attempts are being made
by NGOs and government organizations to create awareness on the
dangers of excessive noise. The noise pollution rules 2000 have been
notified on 14 februray 2000. In the state of Maharashtra, the police
department has been authorized for taking legal action against defaulters.
During the ganesh festival, noise levels were found to be in range of 75 dB
to 90 dB.

Awaaz Foundation, an NGO working on noise pollution in Mumbai, was

registered as a public Trust in 2006 but its founder Sumaira Abdulali had
been measuring noise from most major events in Mumbai since the
Bombay High Court Order of 2003. In 2006 and every year thereafter, the
Ganpati Festival was permitted until midnight for only 3 days and the time
limit was strictly implemented.
In 2008, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board started monitoring noise
levels during the festival season, starting with Ganpati, for the first time.