Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil on Friday said that mandals in Pune have been given the permission to use loudspeakers and sound systems till midnight on six days during Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Last year, permission for the same was granted for four days.
In Pune, the use of loudspeakers during Ganesh festivals is a disputed issue as hundreds of mandal members have protested against rules against playing loud music and demanded a relaxation of the restrictions. Ganesh festival is celebrated in Pune, which is home to more than 3,000 mandals, for over 125 years.
In the past, the Minister had called for a loudspeaker-free Ganesh festival campaign in 2017 and 2018 in Kolhapur, as the guardian minister of the district. Amid severe opposition from mandal members across the region, Patil had claimed that his initiative had created history and it would gradually spread to the rest of Maharashtra.
Earlier he had clarified that even though he is neither against people enjoying their festival nor opposed to the use of sound systems, but the decibel levels must be controlled. If they are violated, the police are bound to take action, the Minister said.
The use of loudspeaker and other sound systems will be allowed for six days during the festival, which will be held between September 2 and 12.
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