India, March 28 -- Residents across south, east, and southeast Delhi have written to the police ahead of Chaitra Navratri, which begins on March 30, urging authorities to curb the annual disruption caused by blaring loudspeakers and traffic congestion during late-night processions.

Residential welfare associations (RWAs) have raised concerns over rows of "boom box trucks" that blast devotional music at deafening volumes on the city's streets, often through the night. For the past two years, these processions - marked by towering stacks of loudspeakers and blinding disco lights - have tormented residents along their routes.

The festival, marked by processions carrying sacred jyots - most of these processions usually start from Kalkaji te...