Pune: A video of dhol-tasha performance on Tuesday on Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) premises, a designated silence zone and one of the busiest public hospitals in the region, triggered outrage and prompted the civic body and police to initiate action against those responsible.The high-decibel performance — part of a bhajan programme organised by the hospital’s employees celebrating Ganeshotsav — was held outside the super specialty heartcare unit and advanced diagnostics facility. The campus houses a police chowkey.“On noticing the event, the hospital dean immediately stopped it. Notices have been issued to the concerned. I have spoken to members of the municipal employees’ association and told them that such celebrations will not be permitted not only in hospitals, but at any facility run by the civic body,” Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi told TOI on Wednesday.Sant Tukaramnagar police have registered a case against six people — five staffers of YCMH and the brass band owner — over the use of dhol-tasha on the hospital’s premises. “They were booked under relevant BNS sections, including those pertaining to public nuisance, and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, provisions,” Suhas Avhad, senior police inspector of Sant Tukaramnagar police, said.A senior YCMH official confirmed that the event organisers did not seek permission from the administration. “They have been celebrating Ganeshotsav at the hospital for decades,” he said.YCMH dean Rajesh Wabale told TOI, “We are in the process of issuing an order that no religious function should be held on the hospital premises, and there cannot be any noise norm violation.”The video clip triggered widespread outrage. Congress worker Ashok Dhaygude, who first shared the video online, said, “A hospital is a facility where people are not allowed to speak loudly, and vehicles are prohibited from honking. A dhol-tasha performance on the hospital premises is unthinkable.”Sant Tukaramnagar resident Chetan Chavan said the incident was concerning as it occurred near the cardiac care unit. “Most patients here are in a serious condition,” he said.Activist Prashant Raul termed the incident “insensitive” and “intolerable”. He said, “It does not require a rule to understand that there should not be any loud noise around hospitals.”
