Telangana: Independence Day speakers till midnight okayed

Hyderabad: In a new amendment to noise pollution rules, the Centre has allowed celebrating the two national festivals — Independence Day and Republic Day — up to midnight with use of loudspeakers and public address systems. This provision was earlier limited to religious and cultural festivals. The amendments to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) rules were made by the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change on August 10.

Asked about the guidelines, Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said: “We follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court, which do not allow music after 10 pm. That is the order for now.” State governments have the discretion to allow music till midnight for 15 days in a year. Prior permission has to be taken for this. “We are not allowing loud music beyond 10 pm as per the apex court orders. We are trying to phase out loud speakers and DJs,” said North Zone DCP B. Sumathi. She said the police was booking petty cases on noise pollution daily.