Why noise curbs only on New Year eve?: HC asks cops

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday categorically told Hyderabad city police not to confine themselves to New Year occasion while coming up with a solution to control noise and other problems faced by residents of Jubilee Hills due to pubs in the locality.

Asking the police to furnish the copy of a circular to be brought out by them with regard to pubs by Thursday, Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy said the government should not have allowed pubs in residential areas and taken up measures to see that youth were not spoiled. “One will understand the ground realities and how scary it is to travel on Road 1, 10 and 12 (of Banjara Hills) and 36 and 45 (of Jubilee Hills) if they too travel on these roads during night,”  he pointed out.

The judge also said there might be 100 pubs and not just 53 as pointed out by the petitioners. Parents too were aware of the severity of the situation but might have their own problems. The government’s objective shall be to protect youth and act within the purview of law, he added.

Earlier, arguing for petitioners, advocates Rajasekhar and Nagesh Reddy complained against pubs violating the Supreme Court orders against sound pollution between 10 pm and 6 am. “People have been suffering from insomnia,” they said.

The advocate general sought to clarify that the government would have to act according to changing conditions. Technology also advanced so that sound would not come out of multiplexes and pubs. However, the government would direct the police to take action against pubs creating noise pollution and would come up with a circular in this regard, he said.