Nearly 54,000 Loudspeakers Removed From Religious Places in UP Till Date

Additional DGP (Law and Order) said the volume of nearly 60,000 sanctioned loudspeakers was regulated in the State.

Continuing its drive against loudspeakers, the Uttar Pradesh Police said that as many as 53,942 loudspeakers had been removed from various religious places across the state as of 7 am on Sunday, 1 May, as per the directions of the Yogi Adityanath government.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) in Uttar Pradesh, Prashant Kumar, said that the sound levels of nearly 60,000 sanctioned loudspeakers were regulated in the state, reported IANS.

He added,

"So far, till 7.00 am in the morning today, 53,942 loudspeakers have been removed from various religious places across the state while the sound level of 60,295 loudspeakers was reduced and brought down to the level of standard parameters."

The Yogi government issued the order to remove illegal loudspeakers from religious places in the state on 24 April.

Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that a compliance report in this regard had been sought (from the districts). He said, "The police have been directed to talk to the religious leaders, and ensure the removal of the unauthorised loudspeakers by coordinating with them."

Regulating Volume of Sanctioned Loudspeakers

CM Adityanath had also issued orders last week to regulate the volume of sanctioned loudspeakers as per permissible decibels at religious places.

In a law and order review meeting, the chief minister directed officials to take special measures, especially after Delhi's Jahangirpuri clashes and also because of the holy festivals of Eid and Akshay Tritiya.

One of the directions given was to remove illegal loudspeakers from religious places and to regulate noise from sanctioned loudspeakers as per various court directions.

Earlier last month, Maharashtra's Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said that the use of loudspeakers at religious sites in the State would be allowed only with prior permission.

This had come a day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said that if the Maharashtra government failed to remove loudspeakers atop mosques by 3 May, Hanuman Chalisa would be played at a higher volume outside mosques.

(With inputs from IANS.)