Voluntary organisations and NGOs gave a memorandum to the inspector-general of police of north Bengal on Wednesday, seeking stern steps to restrict the use of sound boxes and sound mixers to prevent electrocution and sound pollution in view of the tragedy that claimed 10 young lives on Sunday night.

Ten teenagers died of electric shock at Changrabandha under Mekhliganj police station of Cooch Behar district while on their way to the Jalpesh temple in a pick-up van. They were running a generator set and a music system on the van. As it was raining heavily, the exposed wire of the generator set got wet and the vehicle got electrocuted.

“The National Green Tribunal has issued specific directives to enforce restrictions on the use of sound systems, locally called DJs, to check sound pollution. Unfortunately, the restrictions are often violated and we suspect such a violation led to the recent deaths of 10 boys in Cooch Behar. We have urged police to take strict steps against indiscriminate sound systems,” said Animesh Bose, the programme-coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a Siliguri-based outfit working for nature conservation for decades now.

With them, representatives of associations like the Indian Medical Association (Siliguri branch), Indian Dental Association (north Bengal branch), Siliguri Welfare Organisation and Suryanagar Samaj Kalyan Sanstha handed over the memorandum to D.P. Singh, the IGP (NB).

“We have requested him to ensure such music systems are not played in vehicles and that all such systems have sound limiters,” said one of the representatives.

After Sunday night’s tragedy, senior police officers passed specific orders across the districts to stop any vehicle of pilgrims carrying sound systems. During this ongoing Hindu month of Sravan, thousands of devotees head to temples of Shiva, including the Jalpesh temple in Maynaguri of Jalpaiguri district.

“If such sound boxes, mixers and generators are found in any vehicle, it will be seized,” said a police officer.

Landslide

A landslide disrupted traffic on NH10, the highway that connects Siliguri with Kalimpong and Sikkim, for four hours on Wednesday.

Officials of the state PWD (NHIX division) said it occurred at Birickdara, the location of another landslide on Tuesday that had blocked traffic for eight hours. Located 30km from Siliguri, Birickdara is a landslide-prone stretch of the highway.

“Wednesday’s landslide occurred around 8am. We cleared the debris by noon after which traffic resumed,” said an official.