Shahdara Noise Hits Alarming Levels as Kanwariyas Flood Streets with Loud Music

National News: East Delhi's Shahdara became a deafening zone as thousands of Kanwariyas, equipped with screaming boomboxes, came to this choke point on their way to their homes in surrounding sections of Delhi, as well as far-flung places in northern Haryana like Bahadurgarh and Rohtak, and even some portions of Rajasthan. Among all the locations, Shahdara had it the worst, with noise pollution reaching as high as 87.5 decibels during the day on Tuesday (16-hour average from 6am to 10pm).

No respite from early morning until late evening

Shahdara, one of the most popular Kanwar yatra routes, transforms into a 24-hour link of nonstop religious processions as trucks and cars carry multiple boomboxes playing deafening music around the neighbourhood.  Residents claim they, particularly youngsters and the elderly, get no relief from early morning to late evening.

"Spent the last three days without any sleep"

“It felt like we were living inside a DJ club. We are often not able to hear ourselves talk… The business has also been affected. It seemed that the loudspeakers were just outside our windows. Even with all the windows shut, we could feel the vibration in our walls and spent the last three days without any sleep,” said a resident of Seelampur who runs a store in the area.

"Felt like the house was shaking"

Another neighbour, a retired teacher living in Kabul Nagar, claimed the main road near their house had been taken over by loud, intolerable music for the previous four days. "I am a Hindu myself and a very religious person, but this kind of devotion which badly affects others is something that I do not support. The songs are still being played at full blast, which sometimes makes us feel that our house is shaking,” the retired teacher said.

Kanwariyas were entering Delhi from neighbouring states

A senior police officer from Shahdara district, who is involved in the Kanwar Yatra security arrangements, said the decked-out vehicles of kanwariyas, equipped with a series of boomboxes, were entering Delhi from neighbouring states despite discussions and verbal agreements with their counterparts from other states that they would not allow any vehicles that violated sound pollution and Motor Vehicle Act norms. Shahdara in Delhi shares a border with Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.