A marriage hall along Ramsagar Road in Gaya. Picture by Suman

Gaya, May 13: William and Kate are not the only ones to tie the knot this marriage season. The wedlock fever has gripped the residents of the district too. A number of marriages are planned this month despite the sweltering summer heat.

Marriage celebrations are a source of excitement for family, friends and relative but they also cause inconvenience to those living in the neighbourhood.

People taking part in the fun often ignore civic rules. As a result, loud music is often played at marriage halls till late at night. Residents of the neighbourhoods, where these halls are located, are spending sleepless nights because of the high volume of music and the noise from generators. With DJs turning on the beat late at night, most of the affected people are realising why silence is considered to be golden.

“At least four marriage halls have come up adjacent to each other in my neighbourhood, and wedding parties hosted here often keep playing music all through the night,” said Sanjay Kumar, a resident of the Chand Chaura area.

He added: “There should be a ban on playing music after 10pm. It should also be mandatory for marriage halls to install soundless generators to avoid air and noise pollution from these gensets.”

Sources said the many residential holdings have been converted into marriage halls, and as a result they do not pay commercial tax. Most of these halls charge between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,000 per day, and coupled with not paying the taxes, the owners of these establishments are raking in the moolah.

Laljee Prasad, ward councillor, Gaya Municipal Corporation, told The Telegraph that several residential holdings have been converted into marriage halls for which the owners should procure licence and pay commercial tax.

“The owners of such holdings should inform the municipal corporation before converting a residential complex into a commercial outlet, like a marriage hall. If they don’t, they violate the rules of the building act by not paying holding tax,” said Prasad. He added: “Only a few marriage halls pay commercial taxes. The district administration should look into the matter.”

Dharmesh Thakur, city commissioner, Gaya Municipal Corporation, told The Telegraph that assessment of the holdings is done at a gap of every five years.

“The last assessment was done in 2006. Fresh assessment of the holdings will start this year. The banquet halls would be identified and commercial tax imposed,” said Thakur.

Regarding use of old gensets, he said: “It is illegal. But replacing the existing generators will take some time.

“Noise-less generators have been installed at many places, and more old generators would be replaced in the coming days,” he added.