Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered removal of illegal loudspeakers from religious places in the state amid recent communal tensions in some parts of the country.
The state government has also directed the police to talk to and coordinate with religious leaders before removing unauthorized loudspeakers, a senior official said on Monday.
The move comes days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the use of loudspeakers should not cause inconvenience to others.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi told PTI that the order to remove illegal loudspeakers from religious places in the state was issued on Saturday. A compliance report in this regard (from the districts) has been sought by April 30.
According to Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar, 125 loudspeakers have been grounded so far, and around 17,000 people have themselves turned down the quantity of such devices.
Last week, Adityanath announced that no religious procession or march would be allowed in the state without permission. He also said that installation of loudspeakers at new places should not be allowed.
The order comes as the festival of Eid and Akshaya Tritiya are likely to be held on the same day next month and many more festivals are to come in the coming days.
The CM said that everyone has the freedom to follow their method of worship as per their religious ideology, while warning the police to be extra vigilant to avoid any untoward incident.
He said, “No religious procession should be taken out without proper permission. Before giving permission, an affidavit should be taken from the organizer regarding the maintenance of peace and harmony.”
In a tweet from his official handle, it was said that permission should be given to only those religious processions which are traditional. New programs should not be given unnecessary permissions.
He said, “Although mics can be used, make sure that the sound does not come out of any premises. Other people should not face any problem.
first published:April 26, 2022, 7:16 a.m.
