A first in 40 years: Sena to tone down Dussehra rally

A first in 40 years: Sena to tone down Dussehra rally

At the Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally, expected to be its last at the Shivaji Park in Dadar, on Wednesday, party chief Bal Thackeray is likely to spell out the strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly polls. But what locals are looking forward to are the noise controlling measures the party will take, its first such in the over 40 years since it began hosting the traditional gathering, while the rally is in progress. Recently, the Bombay high court had allowed the Sena, which was denied permission by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to hold its Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Park — a silence zone — with several riders, including a suggestion to look for an alternative venue from next year, to use a distributive sound system and to put up sound barriers around the plot. The party has, accordingly, set up tin barricades around the ground to absorb the noise and will be using a sound system comprising 24 small speakers, instead of a few large ones, to ensure that sound is uniformly distributed at lower decibels on Wednesday. Asked if the HC had set any restriction on the decibel level, Anil Parab, Shiv Sena MLC and zonal head, said, “It instructed us to follow whatever norms are already in place. We will abide by them.” Locals have welcomed the move. “They should have done it in the past. We hope the measures help limit noise,” said a resident. The rally, which will also be addressed by Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, will see a volume of the 86-year-old Sena chief’s cartoons being released. Meanwhile, an NGO — Voice Against Tobacco — has built a giant cigarette with 10 heads depicting Ravan, which will be burnt at Somaiya Ground in Ghatkopar on the occasion of Dussehra. Umesh Thanawala, the NGO’s chairman, said, “By burning the giant-sized cigarettes, we want to spread the message of following the concepts behind traditions in one’s life.”