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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 4:59:11 pm

NHRC sword hangs over top Pune officials

Mumbai: ​The top administrative brass of Pune—the Municipal Commissioner and the Police Commissioner—are likely to face unprecedented legal and regulatory action from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over their persistent failure to rein in illegal, deafening sound systems. With civic and police authorities displaying chronic inertia in enforcing mandatory sound limits during recent festivities, the statutory human rights watchdog is poised to hold both top officials directly...

NHRC sword hangs over top Pune officials

Mumbai: ​The top administrative brass of Pune—the Municipal Commissioner and the Police Commissioner—are likely to face unprecedented legal and regulatory action from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over their persistent failure to rein in illegal, deafening sound systems. With civic and police authorities displaying chronic inertia in enforcing mandatory sound limits during recent festivities, the statutory human rights watchdog is poised to hold both top officials directly liable for gross dereliction of duty. This impending crackdown is spearheaded by Pune-based social activist Sharad Kelkar, whose comprehensive petition to the NHRC exposed the rampant proliferation of multi-speaker DJ consoles, plasma sound systems, and blinding laser lights that have turned city streets into hazardous zones. ​At the core of this imminent administrative crisis is the recognition that unbridled acoustic violence is not merely a municipal inconvenience or an environmental transgression, but an overt violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, health, and a peaceful existence. Under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2005, both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pune City Police are the designated implementation authorities tasked with preventing noise levels from crossing prescribed daytime and nighttime thresholds. Following Kelkar’s initial complaint, the NHRC had issued a formal notice to the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MPCB), demanding a detailed explanation and an action-taken report. Yet, despite clear warning signals from the national panel, the city administration showed utter disregard during the recent Dahi Handi festivities, during which massive DJ towers blared at deafening volumes well past permissible limits across nearly every major square. Decisive Follow-up ​Refusing to let the administrative apathy slide, Kelkar has now filed a decisive follow-up complaint before the NHRC with an exhaustive dossier of time-stamped video footage, audio logs, and decibel-level documentation gathered from across the city during Dahi Handi, conclusively demonstrating that local police stations and municipal ward offices turned a blind eye to brazen violations. With clear visual and technical evidence establishing that sound levels consistently surpassed hazardous thresholds, the prospective NHRC directives are expected to demand stern show-cause responses from both commissioners, potentially triggering formal disciplinary proceedings and severe legal sanctions. ​The gravity of the NHRC’s expected intervention is deeply anchored in the acute physiological damage inflicted on society’s most vulnerable demographics. High-intensity low-frequency bass waves generated by modern DJ setups pose severe risks to senior citizens, newborn infants, pregnant women, and patients suffering from cardiovascular conditions or chronic hypertension. Hospitals and residential neighborhoods situated in the vicinity of traditional procession routes frequently report sudden spikes in panic attacks, insomnia, and acute acoustic trauma, often forcing families to temporarily migrate out of the city to avoid falling ill. By categorizing such systemic exposure as a human rights violation, the NHRC’s pending action seeks to shatter the culture of impunity that local authorities have long granted under the guise of festive leeway. ​This institutional crackdown aligns perfectly with an unprecedented groundswell of public outrage spilling onto the streets of Pune. Pushed to the brink by years of unaddressed grievances, frustrated citizens have launched back-to-back weekend protests to demand an immediate, complete ban on DJs and high-decibel loudspeakers ahead of Ganeshotsav.

A man with the mission

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Mumbai: Most of the analysts including senior Mahayuti leaders have given credit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the support it lent to the ruling combine ahead of the recently concluded state assembly elections in Maharashtra. Though, collective leadership is the principle that RSS practices in everyday life, if any one person is to be given the credit of the efforts that would indeed be Atul Limaye, the Sah Sarakaryavah of the RSS.


Born in a lawyers’ family in Nashik and an engineer by education, Limaye left his corporate career to become RSS ‘pracharak’ in early ‘90s. After his initial years in Western Maharashtra and Raigad in Konkan region, he became Sah Prant Pracharak of Devgiri Prant (Marathwada and North Maharashtra regions) where he got a chance to closely study the agrarian economy and its socio-political aspects. When the BJP came to power in Maharashtra in 2014 he was in charge of the Western Maharashtra. His role was crucial in appointments of several of the heads of educational institutions and government institutions.


At the same time he also led a large team of highly trained and ideologically robust young men and women to form several study groups, research teams and think tanks to study a wide range of issues right from the demographic aggression of Muslims and Christians to policy making in the present government set up. These groups and institutions proved useful for the state government in handling Maratha agitation that began in 2017 and the Urban Naxal upheaval the next year.


As Sah Sarakaryavah, he was the key person who called shots behind the curtains during the present assembly polls in Maharashtra. He began by conducting a mega congregation of the individuals attached with the publicity arm of the RSS from all the areas of the state. He also ensured that the Shakha level Karyakarta of the RSS too is mobilized to be able to take on, what can be described as the biggest political challenge, that the Hindutva forces faced.

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