(Top): Plastic sheets partly cover some of the sound amplifiers at the CPM-backed rally on Friday at Belghoria, addressed by the chief minister. (Below): Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sits beside a blaring sound box at the Nandan poetry festival on Thursday. Pictures by Pradip Sanyal

The defiance of the high court ban on use of microphones in the heart of the city gave way to partial compliance on the fringes.

The organisers of a CPM-backed rally in Belghoria made a hurried, though not wholly successful, attempt to conform to the noise rule on Friday, the day Metro reported a violation at a poetry festival in the Nandan complex.

Both programmes were attended by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. But unlike Thursday’s open-air fest at his favourite haunt, the ground in Deshapriya Nagar was partly covered with jute rags and plastic sheets, in an attempt to make the site an enclosed space.

The high court in 1997 had banned the use of microphones in open areas during Madhyamik and other major exams.

The chief minister made it clear that the organisers had the court ruling in mind while preparing the ground. “Aapnara bhujtei parchhen amader sabha ei bhabey ghirey kortey hoyechhey (You well understand why we have covered the ground),” he said, before beginning his speech.

There were loudspeakers galore, but the sound emanating from them was muffled, thanks to the plastic cover along the sides. However, some of the loudspeakers facing adjacent houses stood exposed.

“We have made these arrangements to ensure the sound does not escape the enclosure. We don’t want to violate the ban,” said local CPM legislator Manas Mukherjee.

The ban was still violated, though none of the police officers present, including superintendent Supratim Sarkar, seemed to mind.