BENGALURU : Exasperated over the loud music that pubs in the neighbourhood play well past midnight, residents of Indiranagar met senior police officials on Saturday to put forth their complaints. Members of I Change Indiranagar told the Deputy Commissioner of Police East Zone that people living around 12th Main, 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road are especially anguished by the loud music played by over 80 pubs in the area, which disrupts their sleep and troubles senior citizens and children.
Residents say the loud music is not restricted to weekends, and that the same pattern is followed even on the workings days. Pubs are not allowed to play music after 10.30pm, but citizens complain that the decibels levels remain high until even 3am. “Many establishments have terrace bars, which they proudly advertise as open-air areas, and play loud music there.
When we complain about the noise, they reduce the volume but we can still hear 300 people screaming at the top of their voices,” said Aruna Newton, a member of I change Indiranagar. Some pub owners reason by saying that they have let out space to corporate parties and cannot be stopped, the residents say, pointing out that the noise is disturbing children during the crucial exam time.
Rahul Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, said the issue was discussed in the meeting, and that actions are being taken. “Music played by pubs with no licence has been stopped for now, and other actions will be taken soon,” he said. Besides the loud music, pubs and other commercial establishments also make life difficult for them in other ways, add residents. “The cab drivers just park their vehicles in front of our gates and wait for a trip.
It is annoying,” said Aruna, adding that another problem is posed by people who come down to the road to smoke as the price of cigarettes sold in the pubs is more. They also raise concerns about other issues such as security and sanitation. “All the valet parking is done in the bylanes. Most places do not even have proper garbage disposal,” said Sneha Nandihal, also a member of I change Indiranagar. They also say that couples engaging in objectionable acts in cars make it very uncomfortable for the residents.
Pubs, however, say that they only play ambience music, and not loud music at night. “We do not play any kind of loud music after the given time,” said Mukesh Tolani, owner of Toit. “Also, we have been speaking to BBMP officials to help us get parking spots around Indiranagar so that we can ask people to park their vehicles there. We have requested them to give us the BDA complex space after 7pm as the shops there close after that time,” he added.