14th September 2022 – Locals and expats who live in Canggu have filed a petition at change.org to end extreme noise in Canggu, Bali. People begin to feel the disturbance caused by the activities of nightclubs and beach clubs. The noise which can last until 4 am, drunk tourists, and illegal races are no longer tolerated by the locals.
Pura Kahyangan Jagat, a sacred temple, is located in the neighbourhood. It becomes a witness of tourists who are drunk then screaming around the area, starting a fight and causing some road accidents even going as far as urinating in the temple area. There are also some reports regarding the tourist’s improper sexual behaviour in the vicinity of the sacred temple. Locals believe those things have violated the sanctity of the temple.
The word ‘extreme’ does not come from anywhere, people actually got irritated by noise. The doors and windows are actually vibrating. During the covid-19 pandemic, Satpol-PP (municipal police units) still had the power to give warning to any club that broke the protocol, order heavy fines penalty, and revoke the licenses. However, most of the clubs ignore the threat of closure from Satpol-PP nowadays.
Locals and expats who live in the neighbourhood are having some difficulty sleeping. Some people even do as far as leaving Canggu behind, causing some villas to be vacant. This has influenced the regular income of the locals which has already been severe since the global pandemic.
Furthermore, noise is not only the source of pollution, trash produced by the human activities at the clubs also piles up on the beach, streets, river, and the ocean which possesses environmental harm to the island.
Until this news is written, 7947 people have signed the petition and many have donated to the cause. A local named P Dian is the person who initially filed the petition, P Dian pleads with the President and the local government to impose heavy sanctions on the clubs in order to restore Bali’s peace and beauty to its former glory.