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The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the August 30 order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT Western Ghat Zone bench) capping the number of performers in each Dhol-Tasha-Zanj troupe to 30 persons during the Lord Ganesh idol immersion rituals in Pune.
Issuing a notice to the Maharashtra government, Pune administration, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and others, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading a bench also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, said, “Let them do their Dhol-Tasha, this is the heart of Pune.”
Staying the green tribunal’s Western Ghat Zone bench order, the court said, “(NGT) Directions will affect those who play Dhol and Tasha during the Ganesh festival. There shall be a stay on direction number 4 by the NGT. Let them do their Dhol and Tasha. This is in the heart of Pune.”
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The advocate appearing for the petitioners, including Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust, said that ‘Dhol-Tasha’ holds deep cultural significance for the Ganesh festival in Pune, having been a tradition for over a hundred years.
On August 30, the NGT Western Ghat Zone bench had ordered real-time monitoring of noise around Ganesh pandals and during immersion processions in Pune as a part of a series of directives aimed at curbing noise pollution during the 10-day Ganeshotsav, which began on September 7.
The NGT had imposed restrictions on loudspeakers beyond a total capacity of 100 watts (W) in a pandal, prohibition on the use of toll (metallic high noise-making unit) and DJ sets during immersion (Visarjan) processions, and a limit of 30 performers per Dhol-Tasha-Zanj troupe, among other directives.
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