Despite a ban on using cone-shaped loud speakers, its usage has been quite rampant during the election campaigns here.
They are being used mostly due to lack of awareness about the ban, and lethargy of election officials to take action.
They are mostly used during vehicle campaigns, and at venues where political parties hold public meetings. Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board officials say that the Supreme Court had banned the use of cone speakers in 2005 after it was found that the sound produced is at very high decibels, and creates more nuisance than the box-shaped speakers.
Even the maximum permissible limit of 75 decibels is at industrial areas. But the sound that comes through the cone-shaped speakers are more than that even when the volume level of the amplifier is kept lower, they said.
But TNPCB officials were of the opinion that it was the duty of the election officials and the police to take action against the use of cone-shaped speakers.
Activists feel that the election officials did not carry out adequate sensitisation against the use of cone-shaped speakers among the political parties and also the operators of the vehicles outsourced/hired by the political parties for campaigning.
“Why the police officials and the elections officials are not taking up cases even when the violations are apparent and causing disturbance to the voters,” said N. Shanmugasundaram, president of Nallur Consumer Welfare Association.
