The Uttar Pradesh police today said hundreds of loudspeakers have been removed from religious places and thousands regulated across the states after dialogues with leaders of different religions, as part of an initiative started on orders of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a law-and-order meeting review meeting last week, Yogi Adityanath had ordered special measures after the clashes in Delhi's Jahangirpuri, and also because the festivals of Eid and Akshay Tritiya are likely to fall on the same date early next month.
One of those directions was to remove illegal loudspeakers from religious places and to regulate noise from sanctioned ones as per various court directions. The chief minister also said no new permissions for loudspeakers would be given.
Pictures tweeted from various UP police Twitter handles in the last few days show loudspeakers being removed from both temples and mosques and many religious leaders speaking in favour of this.
A tweet this morning by the police in eastern Uttar Pradesh's Gonda showed loudspeakers being removed from both temples and mosques. The police said this was done after a dialogue with all stakeholders.
Visuals from capital Lucknow showed the police handing out pamphlets with information about permissible noise levels at religious places and also marriage halls.
Similar visuals were also shared by the police in western Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, a communally sensitive district.
"According to court and government guidelines, there are limits on sound from loudspeakers and one needs permission for loudspeakers. We spoke to religious leaders and caretakers of temples and mosques and over 500 loudspeakers have been taken down voluntarily in the district. This exercise will continue for a few days," Akash Tomar, the district's police chief said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 683 loudspeakers were taken down across Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district and the volume of 395 loudspeakers was lowered as per the parameters.
"On the appeal of Police/Administration, people voluntarily took down loudspeakers from temples/mosques/religious places. 683 loudspeakers were taken down across the district and the volume of 395 loudspeakers was lowered as per the parameters," said the Sitapur Police.
A top police official in UP said dialogue had been initiated with over 37,000 religious leaders across the state. "There are clear directions that festivals have to be celebrated in a traditional manner. We are making special arrangements in sensitive districts ", Prashant Kumar, the officer in charge of law and order in the state said in a statement.
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