BENGALURU: Tired of having their sleep cycles disturbed on a daily basis by loud music played by pubs and bars in the area, residents of Vittal Mallya Road and surrounding neighbourhoods have approached the police and filed a complaint on Thursday. Following this, police issued notices to several establishments asking them to immediately install sound-proofing measures on their premises.
According to Shyamala Nawad, a resident from Garden Apartment, this is not the first time the residents have had tried to raise the issue. “Earlier, we had complained to the KSPCB to take action against these pubs. Residents of Vittal Mallya Road, D’Souza Layout, Walton Road and Lavelle Road are suffering because of the loud music. We then decided to start a signature campaign and complain to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) to get relief,” she said.
A police officer said this was the second time notices were issued to pubs and bars in the area as no measures were taken earlier. “We have decided to take legal action in the coming days against them if there is no compliance,” the officer said. Weekends are particularly hard for residents as along with the music, they also have to deal with traffic jams, drunken brawls on the street and screaming partygoers. Any attempts to talk to the owners of the pubs or the staff has been met with stoic indifference.
“I live opposite Skye bar and have issues with the loud music from there. I understand it is a commercial space and they have to play music and I am not against that,” says Siddarth Thomas, adding, ”We are just against noise beyond the prescribed decibel levels.” Siddarth and others residents say that the the noise exceeds the mandated decibel levels by three or four times.
What pub owners say
Commercial establishments say they do their best to co-operate but need to run their business as well. The owner of a bar on Vittal Mallaya Road said, “My take is simple. We are doing business legally and do not extend beyond the curfew. The moment we get noise complaints we are more than happy to reduce the volume. People have to understand that the livelihood of vendors, artists, staff and security depend on these businesses. Most of our revenue is generated only on weekends. Besides, if you take away the entertainment zone from this area, Indiranagar and Koramangala, where else can people go to relax?” he questioned.