Dear Editor,
Most wedding-houses play music as part of their wedding activity. It is a necessary element for even the church weddings to play some sort of music.
This is a traditional practice which invitees look forward to. Appropriate music adds to the jollification. Today, our wedding-house neighbours are all very tolerant towards the playing of music, and the wedding hosts do exercise some level of discretion as to the quality and the volume of music they would approve.
What I find very annoying is the long drawn-out process that someone hosting a wedding has to go through in order for permission to play music to be granted. We hear music almost every day in the community; every week from fund-raising events at community centres, etc. What the application addresses is the playing of loud and continuous music that is likely to drive normal people insane. What I realise is that even if the music is of a tolerable volume permission still has to be obtained from the police.
The present process involves permission from the fire station which is then taken to the police in the community and the NDC. The police will then contact some neighbours to find out if they have any objection regarding the playing of music. This finding is then forwarded to Ruimveldt Police Station (if you live on the East Bank Demerara) after the police have made their comments. But this is not yet over. Ruimveldt will forward the documents to Brickdam Police Station, and from there the package or some document is sent to a magistrate in Middle Street who, after processing, will send back a document to Brickdam for the final approval to be issued.
I am not sure if the applicant moves with the papers from stage to stage. What I know is that the police from the village would dispatch same to Ruimveldt Police Station.
I had the tedious experience two years ago, moving from one stage to the next, as at one stage they had no record of receiving the document. Then when it was found two days after my visit. It was sent to stage four. I went to Brickdam on two consecutive days, as the first day it could not be found, and when it was found on the second day it was discovered it had been entered in a ledger under the wrong name.
I took it myself to stage six where I met some other people who were also waiting like me. There I was told I had to have a document from the NDC to take there. I was already frustrated as the wedding was just days away. I was needed at home to do other things, but there I was facing some challenges and moving helter-skelter to get a permit to play music.
I am sure that others also find this quite daunting.
In my opinion, some of those stages are quite unnecessary and irrelevant. Let the police station in the area and the NDC grant the necessary permission. Let the NDC solicit the views of the neighbours, if this is necessary, and make recommendations to the police who will then issue the relevant permission.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
