No chanting near Siddhivinayak temple

Cops ask devotees not to chant loudly, as residents complain of the noise

Devotees of Lord Ganesha who set out on foot for Siddhivinayak Temple every Monday night have been asked to keep it down. Following a spate of complaints from residents on routes that lead up to the Prabhadevi temple, the cops have placed a ban on loud chanting of bhajans or slogans.

For years now, lakhs of devotees come walking from far-flung suburbs for the Tuesday aarti. To keep the energy high many of them chant and sing as they walk.

But of late, complaints about this have increased, said cops on bandobast duty near the temple last night.

The residents claim they are not able to sleep on Monday nights due to the chanting. Mahim resident Shalini Agrawal said, "My husband has to get up early in the morning and he can't sleep on Monday nights. I have called up on 100 many times to complain about the noise."

The control room gets over 10-15 calls every Monday night regarding this problem.

A patrolling officer on duty told MiD DAY, "We have been ordered to watch the activities of the devotees who chant or make noise on the streets. We are following the Supreme Court order banning loud noise between 10 pm to 6 am."

Police confirmation
The Mumbai police confirmed that local citizens near the Siddhivinayak Temple had complained about the nuisance created by the devotees, who visit the temple late on Monday night till early in Tuesday morning between 10 pm to 6 am.

Following a spate of complaints from residents on routes that lead up to the Prabhadevi temple, the cops have placed a ban on loud chanting of bhajans or slogans.

"When we receive the complaint about the noice pollution or any such disturbances we verify the merits of the case and take action against the people under Bombay Police Act," said Sadanand Date, Additional Commissioner of Police

Additional CP (Central), Sadanand Date, said, "We have increased security on Monday nights." However, he said he needed more time to get back on the noise issue.

Devoteespeak

I had a mannat, which was fulfilled and I had to come with a palki and chanting aarti all through the way. But I was stopped, because the residents were getting disturbed. I didn't play the manjira and other instruments, but chanted the aarti softly.
-u00a0Seema Rai, who was walking with her family

I regularly visit this temple, but for the past few weeks I have not seen devotees coming with palkis or chanting aartis. It used to be wonderful walking with them. I did not feel the pain of walking, but now I do.u00a0
- Rajni Patil, started from Goregaon at 11 pm with her family

We cannot sing and are not allowed to take Ganpati Bappa's name loudly. When we say it loudly, we get a warning from the police.
-u00a0Vilas Shinde, who came to pray for his SSC