Dream homes turn into noise prisons. UANP takes on Taj, luxury resorts over relentless noise. Residents Seek Legal Action against the Noise Polluters from Regulatory Authority
DEHRADUN, JULY 4: Dream homes have become noise prisons. Peace has disappeared. Sleep has become a luxury.
Launching a frontal attack on unchecked noise pollution, the newly formed Uttarakhand Against Noise Pollution (UANP) on Saturday demanded strict action against luxury hotels, resorts, pubs, restaurants, wedding venues and event organisers.
Referring to complaints against establishments, including Taj and Marriott, the citizens' collective urged regulators to stop looking the other way and crack down on violators.
The campaign is built on stories of suffering. Instead of statistics, residents narrated painful accounts of how relentless loud music, fireworks and construction noise have made everyday life miserable.
Families spoke of sleepless nights, elderly parents falling ill, children unable to study, infants waking up in fear and homeowners spending lakhs on soundproofing or even abandoning the homes they built after retirement.
The movement seeks tougher enforcement. Launching UANP at the Press Club, Anoop Nautiyal said the organisation would build a statewide citizens' movement against noise pollution, persuade commercial establishments to voluntarily reduce noise and push the Police, Urban Local Bodies, the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board and district administration to strictly enforce the Noise Pollution Rules.
A retired Army officer paid a heavy price for silence. Retired Major General Atul Rawat said he spent nearly ₹2 lakh to soundproof his house after loud music from nearby restaurants and pubs, coupled with late-night construction, made life unbearable.
He said the constant disturbance had also affected the health of his elderly parents.
A dream retirement ended in heartbreak. Retired Lt Col Karuna Thapliyal said she was forced to sell the house she built after retirement because the neighbourhood had become unliveable.
She also alleged that after raising complaints, weekend tourists gathered outside her gate, played loud vulgar music and repeatedly rang her doorbell to harass her.
An ancestral village has lost its peace. Eighty-four-year-old Dharam Singh Rawat, whose family has lived in Malsi village for over 200 years, alleged that loud music and events at hotels, including Taj and Marriott, had shattered the tranquillity of the area and seriously affected the health of residents.
Children and the elderly are paying the price. Resident Vinesh Rawat said his six-month-old grandchild and other young children were repeatedly startled awake by late-night music and fireworks.
He asked whether lifelong residents were expected to leave their homes while commercial establishments continued violating the law.
Sultan Singh alleged that noise from the Taj property made even normal conversations inside his house difficult. Pankaj Rawat said his family remained trapped between noise coming from hotels on both sides.
Wildlife is not being spared either. Environmentalist Nitin Ahlawat said excessive noise was driving away birds from the nearby Malsi forest, barely 200 metres from the hotels.
He also reminded authorities that legal sound limits are measured at the boundary of the property generating the noise and are enforceable under the law.
Residents say promises remain on paper. Vivek Ahlawat alleged that despite assurances from the Taj management to install sound barriers within three months, loud music continued unabated, affecting even elderly heart patients living nearby.
The law exists, but enforcement is missing. Keerti Ahlawat said residential areas are entitled to noise limits of 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.
She said repeated complaints to hotel managements, the 1095 portal, the District Magistrate, the Pollution Control Board and the Municipal Corporation had brought little relief.
She also described how persistent noise disrupted her son's board examination preparation and affected her own health.
The campaign is now going statewide. UANP also launched its Kumaon Chapter in Corbett under Sumantha Ghosh, saying residents there face similar problems from resorts and commercial establishments.
The message was clear. In their concluding remarks, Anoop Nautiyal, Aloke Lal and Jagmohan Mendiratta called upon citizens across Uttarakhand to join the movement and set up local UANP chapters.
They said the campaign would continue until authorities hold influential polluters accountable and restore the right of citizens to live in peaceful, healthy neighbourhoods.
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