MUMBAI: Ganpati immersion processions this year were even quieter than 2020, with almost no loudspeakers or any other noisy instruments observed, anti-noise campaigner Awaaz Foundation stated in a report.On Sunday, a temple bell was rung continuously by one procession near the Haji Ali immersion point and horns were constantly blown at other places. The highest noise level of 93.1 decibel (dB) was recorded at the entry point of Girgaum Chowpatty immersion site by a procession constantly blowing horns, found a survey by the NGO. In 2020, the highest recorded noise level was 100.7dB from a procession near Worli Dairy.“Thanks to arrangements made by the police, and with cooperation of the Ganpati mandals to not only safeguard health and the environment in the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to reduce noise pollution, making it the quietest in 18 years since Awaaz Foundation began recording noise levels,” Sumaira Abdul Ali of the Foundation said in her letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray.The NGO has been measuring noise from various sources including festivals and political rallies since 2003.
