A dispute over what qualifies as a DJ system under West Bengal’s restrictions on loud music has unsettled sound-equipment traders less than two weeks before Durga Puja, with a south Bengal trade association alleging that police are detaining ordinary sound boxes and arresting workers.
The South Bengal Electrical District Committee raised the issue at an emergency meeting in Barasat’s Dakbanglow More, where organisational representatives from 17 districts discussed the impact of the restrictions on loudspeakers, amplifiers and audio systems. The association said the government must issue clear guidelines defining which equipment or performances fall under the DJ ban.
According to the report, the association has also alleged that enforcement action intended to stop DJ music is extending to conventional amplifiers and sound boxes used at ordinary public events. Traders said workers linked to the sound-system business were facing police harassment in both urban and rural areas. The association has sought an end to such action and asked the government to specify the equipment covered by the prohibition.
The dispute centres on the difference between high-powered disc-sound systems used at large auditoriums, stadiums, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues, and the smaller amplifiers and speakers commonly hired for community events. Traders said that treating both categories alike was causing confusion for businesses and event organisers.
The association said demand for loudspeakers and sound boxes had weakened despite Durga Puja being 11 days away. It warned that, unless the government clarifies the rules, its members may boycott political, social and cultural programmes after the festival and stop renting out microphones and speakers for government and political events as well.
Purঞ্জয় বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, speaking for the organisation, said the sound business supported several lakh people and that traders were willing to follow restrictions if the government clearly identified what was prohibited. He said the association could accept a rule allowing only older songs instead of DJ mixes if such a direction was formally issued. The association has made an oral request to the chief minister to examine the matter and has warned that it may approach the Supreme Court and launch a movement.
The traders have also proposed that the government regulate events through specified sound limits rather than using the broad term “DJ ban”. The report does not cite a written government notification defining the prohibited equipment or setting out a separate enforcement procedure. The association’s next stated position is that it will seek clarification before the festival and review its proposed boycott after Durga Puja.
