NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council has banned the playing of loud music or other sounds half an hour before sunset in the vicinity of India Gate and the National War Memorial as it causes “avoidable disturbance” during the daily retreat ceremony.
The retreat ceremony at India Gate is witnessed by a large number of visitors. As part of the ceremony, the national flag and the flags of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy are lowered while a bugle call is sounded. The ceremony lasts less than 15 minutes. “Any music or loud sounds in the vicinity of the monument at the time of the bugle call during the retreat ceremony causes an avoidable disturbance,” NDMC said in a statement.
“This is basically a circular by the urban development ministry which has been endorsed to us. India Gate falls under the jurisdiction of the Indian Army and the Central Public Works Department. The NDMC doesn’t have any direct connection with the area. The letter is from April and we haven’t passed any specific issue separately. But since the India Gate zone falls under NDMC, we are to take the matter up,” a senior official from the civic body told this newspaper.
“The timings can be further coordinated by the respective functionaries on the ground with the National War Memorial staff,” the statement added.
The memorial was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last February. According to the civic authorities, the average daily footfall in the India Gate area on weekdays is over 10,000, and it swells beyond 20,000 on the weekend.