Pune: Such is the intensity of sound pollution during Pune’s annual Ganeshotsav celebrations that a large number of citizens in the worst-affected Peth areas (old Pune) lock up their homes and move to distant suburbs for peace of mind. Surgeries and hospital visits are postponed by a fortnight. If possible, hospital patients are shifted to other hospitals and the rest – invalids, elderly, the poor and ICU patients who cannot shift, suffer silently.It was this pent-up frustration building up year after year over the decades that exploded recently with the spark ignited by 37-year-old BPO employee Vidyanand Bapat. A citizen-activist, Bapat triggered an anti-noise pollution campaign in the city when, on August 24, he stood up at the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Ganeshotsav preparatory meeting and raised objections to noise pollution that occurs during the festivities.He demanded a ban on “DJs” (‘Disc Jockeys’, a generic name for blaring loudspeakers), a ban on the use of powerful laser lights and also a ban on road-encroaching pandals erected by Ganesh Mandals. He suggested that the massive Ganesh immersion procession on the final day, which routinely stretches for more than 24 hours, should be held on the city outskirts.These suggestions from a middle class Maharashtrian Brahmin youth from Narayan Peth – a locality in the Brahmin-dominated old Pune, a bastion of the RSS-BJP – were seen as almost blasphemous. Such was the fierce reaction that the assembled representatives of Ganesh Mandals and ‘City Fathers’ (PMC corporators) sprang to their feet, shouted Bapat down and surrounded him in a menacing manner. Bapat was soon escorted out of the hall by the PMC security staff.This electrifying spectacle amidst a pandemonium in the Pune civic body soon went viral on social media as Bapat continued to speak out and became a city hero. He had touched a nerve and he won tremendous citizen support.Variously called Senapati Bapat, a freedom fighter and an Urban Naxal by admirers and critics, Bapat has emerged as the Abhijeet Dipke of Pune. Ironically, Bapat hails from Ratnagiri, the hometown of Lokmanya Tilak, who had initiated the public Ganapati festival 132 years ago to rally the masses against the British during the freedom struggle.Ever since Bapat spoke out at the PMC meeting, he has grabbed the headlines in Pune and has been giving a spate of media interviews to mainstream media and YouTubers to create public awareness.He has been participating in TV and YouTube debates, pitted against his critics. Extremely articulate and precise in his choice of words, Bapat speaks in chaste Marathi, often quoting Sanskrit verses, holds a steady gaze and doesn’t indulge in personal attacks; all this has won him many admirers.It was during one interview on the street in the Peth area on September 3 that he was attacked and slapped by a Ganesh Mandal activist who was subsequently arrested. This happened, as was feared by many, given the intense reaction that Bapat was drawing with his campaign. Refusing to be cowed down, Bapat has continued with his campaign and has been provided with a police bodyguard for his safety.Reacting to the assault, Bapat cited the late anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar who was murdered during a morning walk in Pune, and said, while a person may be killed, his thoughts and ideas don’t die. They, instead, grow exponentially as happened with Dr Dabholkar’s crusades.The attack on Bapat drew a sharp reaction in Pune with some people condemning it as an attack on the constitutional right to free speech. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too, condemned the attack.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati temple during Ganesh Chaturthi festival, in Pune, Monday, September 1, 2025. Photo: PTI.Public support for this young crusader had been pouring in over social media and amongst small groups, and on August 6, hundreds of citizens across age groups rallied under the banner ‘Punekars against Loudspeakers’ and went on a march to the Pune Municipal Corporation. The gathering demanded a total ban on DJs, loudspeakers and sound systems in open air public places during festivals, religious events, anniversaries and other public events.Vidyanand Bapat did not participate in this march, ostensibly on the advice of the police for his personal safety, and was conspicuous by his absence.The large turnout at the march was not unexpected. Bapat had told this reporter a day earlier, “A number of citizen groups are discussing campaigns at their own level and raising their voice publicly. This movement is therefore becoming bigger. It will get organised over time.”In his public interviews, Bapat has been speaking of his faith in citizen activism as the bedrock of a functional, healthy democracy. “Citizen activism is prevalent in the US in a big way and it has been practised there since the time of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Patrick Henry. Even if we read what they had written way back in 1776, we can see the extent of conceptual clarity they had. Unfortunately, we don’t see citizen activism in India to that extent. It is our goal to raise it to that level.”Asked if he felt positive about his campaign after Fadnavis said “definitely noise pollution has to be reduced”, Bapat said that the chief minister’s statement was welcome but it was vague and ambiguous.“What is the meaning of ‘noise pollution has to be reduced’ if you give permission for the use of loudspeakers?” he said.Bapat pointed out that in 1977-78, the Maharashtra government had given an affidavit to the Bombay high court that it was considering a ban on the use of loudspeakers in public places. But the government backed out later.In 1983 as well, there was a litigation in a small causes court in Bombay and the first recommendation of the court-appointed V.D. Desai committee was that no permission should be given to loudspeakers in open air or outdoors. They should be restricted to a closed environment. But these recommendations were not implemented or included in the laws.“This should be done now. There should be a total ban on the use of loudspeakers and sound systems in open air environments. Then the issue of decibels and base and top, which are all superficial, won’t arise,” Bapat said.“Our focus is on festivals that are celebrated publicly, not those that are celebrated inside homes. Not a single loudspeaker; zero decibel, zero base, zero top. And they will not play musical instruments like drums, tom-toms, dhol-tasha in public places. They can play those instruments in enclosed auditoriums,” he said.With regards to traffic obstruction, he said, the pandals should not encroach the roads because roads are meant for traffic and not for celebrating festivals. “Pandals should be erected in large exhibition grounds in the city. Those who want to see these pandals can go to the grounds,” he said.The ten-day festival begins from September 14. Bapat expects his campaign to become bigger with greater public participation in the coming days. He felt that citizen activism alone will compel the government to change its mind and amend the laws. As he says, “This is the beginning for us.”Abhay Vaidya is a senior journalist based in Pune.