As the voting for Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) 2026 elections draw closer, the city has transformed into a high-decibel battleground. While candidates across 38 prabhags are pulling out all the stops to reach voters, the method of outreach, specifically the relentless use of auto-rickshaws mounted with heavy-duty loudspeakers, has pushed residents to the brink of frustration. The traditional door-to-door campaign has been overshadowed by an audio arms race.

 

Throughout the day, auto-rickshaws traverse narrow lanes, blaring pre-recorded jingles and announcements at ear-splitting volumes. A particularly chaotic scene was witnessed on Sunday in Prabhag 12, where two rival parties rickshaws ended up pitted directly at each other, and the continuous blaring of high decibel campaign left the voters confused. The scene was quite pathetic as administration seems to be looking the other way, with little mechanism in place to check and implement sound pollution norms. In an attempt to drown out the competition, both drivers cranked their amplifiers to the maximum.

 

The result was a distorted, deafening wall of sound that rendered both announcements completely unintelligible. “It wasn’t information; it was just noise,” said one local resident. “They were competing to be the loudest, but all they achieved was making us want to plug our ears.” The timing of this acoustic battle couldn’t be worse. Currently, thousands of students are appearing for the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) winter exams. For these students, concentration is a casualty of the campaign. “I am trying to revise for my final papers, but every hour, a new rickshaw passes by,” lamented a student, Samir Patel.

 

This constant interruption has become a significant source of stress, leading to a growing resentment among the youth toward the very political leaders seeking their first vote. Furthermore, the elderly and those with health conditions are suffering the most. The high-frequency noise is not just a nuisance but a health hazard, causing sleep deprivation and anxiety among senior citizens. To restore sanity to our streets, the administration must intervene. Residents and civic activists are calling for the following solutions: The NMC and local police must fix a strict decibel limit for mobile campaigning. Teams equipped with sound-level meters should monitor rickshaws and if any vehicle exceeding the limit or operating near ‘Silence Zones’ like hospitals and exam centers should have its permit revoked immediately. If the parties truly care about the citizens they wish to represent, they must realise that winning a vote shouldn’t require losing the peace of the neighborhood.