'Jai Ho' To Go Silent? BMC Set To Barricade Mumbai's 'Melody Road' Following Noise Complaints By Breach Candy Residents

Mumbai: In a major rollback of one of the city’s most talked-about infrastructure experiments, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has reportedly decided to barricade Mumbai’s ‘melody road’ just a month after its launch, following mounting complaints from residents over persistent noise disturbance.

The musical stretch, located on the northbound lane of the Coastal Road in Mumbai, had drawn attention for playing Jai Ho as vehicles passed over specially designed grooves. However, the novelty quickly turned contentious as residents of Breach Candy objected to the continuous sound emanating from the road, especially during early mornings and late evenings.

According to civic officials, although initial decibel readings taken at nearby buildings were found to be within permissible limits, the scale of public opposition led to the decision to temporarily shut the stretch. “Given the concerns raised by a large number of residents, we have barricaded the road for now. It may be opened only on special occasions or weekends,” an official said, as quoted by The Times of India.

The melody road, inaugurated on February 11, was constructed at a cost of Rs 6 crore along the stretch connecting Nariman Point to Worli. Positioned about 500 metres beyond the tunnel, the road uses grooves that produce vibrations to generate music when vehicles travel at speeds of 70–80 km/h.

Despite its innovative concept, over 650 families from Breach Candy submitted a formal complaint to Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, describing the sound as a constant and intrusive disturbance. Residents argued that the project offered little public benefit while compromising the peace of a residential area. “We cannot keep our windows open. The sound becomes a continuous background disturbance,” the complaint noted.

In response, the BMC has asked its consultants to explore possible modifications and will conduct further noise-level studies, particularly during nighttime, to assess the full impact.

While melody roads have been successfully implemented in countries like Japan, Hungary, and South Korea, Mumbai’s experience highlights the complexities of introducing such innovations in densely populated urban cities.

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