Our Bureau
New Delhi
Chief Minister of Delhi, Rekha Gupta has made a major announcement in the middle of Navratri. She has announced that loudspeakers at Durga Puja pandals, Ramlila performances, Dandiya and other religious activities will be given a 2-hour relaxation and can now be operated till midnight i.e., 12 am going up from 10 pm earlier.
CM Rekha Gupta highlighted that Hindu festivals face difficulty and finishing them till 10 pm can be a hefty task and other states like Gujarat events even go on all night. So her government has decided to extend the timings and are allowing cultural-religious festivals to go on till 12 am.
“I always noticed that our Hindu festivals face difficulties. Ramlila or Durga Puja can never end at 10 pm. When Dandiya can go on all night in Gujarat, when events can happen all night in other states, then why can’t the same be for the people of Delhi? So this time we have given permission to all Ramlilas, Durga Pujas, and cultural-religious festivals to continue until 12 am,” she said.
In Delhi, the use of loudspeakers in public areas had been prohibited between 10 pm and 6 am. A few months ago, the Delhi Police Department had issued an order stating that to use loudspeakers or public address systems anywhere in the city, people will be required to take a prior permission from the authorities.
This is not the first time that the relaxation of the ban on loudspeakers has been extended during Navratri. Two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Arvind Kejriwal had announced the same relaxation allowing them to function till 12 am at Ramlila venues and Durga Puja pandals.
