ABP News investigates: Azaan being recited at decibel level higher than permitted

Sound pollution measured from Mumbai/ ABP News image

New Delhi: A fresh debate over the use of loud speakers has erupted after singer Sonu Nigam’s tweet regarding the sound pollution caused due to speakers used during Azaan (awakening call for Muslims to come and recite Namaz) created a buzz on social media. To check how true and justified the singer’s resentment towards Azaan was, ABP News reporters did an investigation and measured the decibels of noise produced in the areas surrounding mosques between 4 to 5 am every day. Outside Sonu Nigam’s house: The reporter, who stood outside singer’s house with a machine which measures sound pollution found out that 77DB of noise pollution is usually created due to Azaan. Whereas, the permitted level of noise is 45 DB. ABP News image/ Sonu Nigam Jaipur: Standing at a distance from a mosque in Jaipur, a reporter found out that over 90 decibels of sound were produced which is quite high a number. Lucknow: Reporter in Lucknow observed 64 DB of sound produced due to Azaan outside a mosque, which was comparatively a decent volume. Allahabad: In Allahabad, the sound of Azaan came from 15 different mosques simultaneously and collectively produced a very loud sound. The reporters spoke to one of the men who had come for namaaz, who said “Azaan is read to alert everyone that the time for paying homage and respect to Allah has come”. He added saying that “Azaan lasts only for 1 to 2 minutes and the sound fades by the time it reaches the houses”. In the modern time like today’s when technology has given us various inventions like alarm clocks and cell phones, the question therefore arises that why are we still dependent on the traditional ways of using loud speakers.