 Sailesh Ghelani, who lives across the road from the consulate, says he has been jolted out of his sleep regularly during the past two years. Pic: Manoj Nair The wireless sets in police vans, communicating late into the night outside the United States consulate at Breach Candy, are robbing residents in the area of their sleep.
Police said that their men have been instructed to reduce the sound of their wireless at night after residents in the area complained about the sound. But residents say that their complaints only bring them respite from the disturbing drone of the wireless for a couple of days. When they stop complaining, the disturbance returns.
Sailesh Ghelani, a resident of Mistry building across the road from the consulate, says that he does not remember a week in the last two years when the wireless of police vans have not jolted him from his sleep in the middle of the night. Sometimes the sound is so loud that I can hear the conversation on the wireless sets, said Sailesh, whose bedroom on the fifth floor overlooks the spot where a control van is parked for all the 24 hours.
Local residents say that they have made several written complaints to the consulate and the police station about the noise and the arbitrary manner in which the consulate has stopped parking of vehicles even on the opposite side of the road outside the consulate.
I cannot call a taxi from my buildings gate because the guards at the consulate do not allow vehicles to stop there, says Saileshs mother Ruby.
Another resident, Rus Balaporia, said that the new speed breakers on the road outside the consulate were unmarked and caused congestion on the road.
The consulate has its own security personnel. But it also receives protection from the local Gamdevi police station. The police station said that security at the consulate has been stepped up after the September 11, 2002 attacks and the more recent Iraq war. Two wireless communication vans are stationed all the time on the road at both ends of the consulate.
A policeman said that they have received many complaints from residents of buildings about the noise from the wireless. We have given strict instructions to the radio operators to reduce the sound of the sets. But at night, the sound gets amplified because of the silence on the road, said an officer from the police station.
The consulate declined to comment on complaints from the residents. I have not seen the complaints. I have nothing to comment, said Linda Cheatham of the public relations department, when asked how the consulate could reduce the residents woes.
Even the police do not seem to have a solution to the problem. It is the duty of the government of India to protect the American consulate property. The only way to reduce the sound is to remove the wireless vans from the spot. But the consulate is under a security threat, said a police official.
Residents complaints
* The wireless of police vans blare in the night * The police and the consulate put barricades on either side of the road and have security drills whenever they feel like * The consulate guards prevent cars and taxis from stopping in the vicinity, even if it is just to stop near a building for a passenger to alight * There is disregard for the convenience and the rights of the residents in the area
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