Loudspeaker on top of a mosque on Shivajinagar, in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Alleging that azaan, the call to prayer in mosques, causes ‘noise pollution’, members of the BJP urged the government of Karnataka to take action as per the Supreme Court’s direction, during Question Hour in the Legislative Council in Belagavi on December 16.
BJP member D.S. Arun, who raised the question, stated that he and his family members had been disturbed by the regular azaan from a mosque close to his place in Shivamogga. “The volume of loudspeakers in mosques has gone up in recent days. The Congress government has no guts to take action against people using loudspeakers at mosques,” he remarked, triggering a heated debate.
C.T. Ravi, Bharathi Shetty, N. Ravi Kumar, and Keshava Prasad of the BJP demanded that the government implement the rule strictly to avoid noise pollution. They alleged that the government, which banned the use of DJ music during the Ganesha festival, had allowed loudspeakers in mosques, which operate throughout the year.
The members in the treasury benches accused the BJP members of politicising the issue.
Same rules for all
Minister for Environment and Forests Eshwar Khandre stated that the rules are the same for all. The government of Karnataka had constituted district-level committees to test noise levels at religious places where loudspeakers were being used. The committee would include ACP or the DySP, the Executive Engineer of the urban local body, and a representative from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. The committee would take action whenever there was a complaint, he said.
The Minister said that his department had issued an order insisting that loudspeakers should be used only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rule, 2000, specified the maximum decibel levels with respect to sensitive areas, residential areas, commercial areas, and industrial areas. Violation of the rule would attract punishment. “We need to spread awareness among the public about noise pollution,” he added.
Published – December 16, 2025 04:23 pm IST
