Dear Editor,

Once again the Starlite Drive-In destroyed the sanctity of peace and quiet in the neighbourhood of Atlantic Gardens, Happy Acres and Montrose.

There needs to be a rude awakening about law and order in this country. The East Coast Noise Nuisance Committee, comprising citizens of Atlantic Gardens, acquired an injunction against the owner of Starlite Drive-In, Mr Maurice Sukhoo.

From 22:00hrs to 02:00hrs, no noise is to emanate from the Starlite that would disturb the citizens of the country who need their rest, according to the court order. Several other shows were held with disgusting sounds and vulgar lyrics after the court order. Some weeks ago the owner was served a contempt of court motion, and yet he endeavoured to do this again. On one occasion he was charged by the police, yet he continues.

On the night of Saturday, January 23, 2010, a show was held that went from 6 pm to 2am on Sunday, preventing the sick from getting their rest. The old people, and students studying suffered a wasted night – one studying medicine, another in Communication Studies at UG, and many others in various disciplines. We cannot blame the company which launched its Mashramani float. The owner of Starlite knows he has an injunction and yet he let the premises for a show which caused a noise nuisance and which prevented the undersigned and citizens in the area from resting.

One person had a party for family and friends, a decent gathering of really nice and pleasant people. The party had to be virtually aborted due the heavy pounding of the music bass and the sickening noise. One could see the expressions on the faces of the people. This is another reason why we object to these noisy shows. People plan their functions a year ahead – in some cases years ahead – and suddenly without any regard for people’s rest or their functions, Starlite disrupts their lives.

There have been times when there were two noisy shows in one weekend, and four in one month, as if the hardworking, poor workers, businesspeople and professionals were bereft of rights. Calling the police on the night of January 23 was useless. The police have done several studies in the area, yet it is claimed they gave the permission for the show. One prominent gentleman and councillor for the area, who has an 87-year-old mother was sick with annoyance, and said he had no faith in the system. It was another night of terror and torture.

Sponsors of such shows and promoters need to host these shows near their homes, so they would see what we go through.

Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
Chairman
EC Noise Nuisance Committee