E-Paper
Action taken on 1.30 lakh loudspeakers across UP, say police
As many as 72,509 loudspeakers removed from places of worship across the state, volume of 56,558 reduced to permissible levels
LUCKNOW As part of the drive to remove loudspeakers from religious places across the state, the UP police on Thursday said it had taken action on nearly 1.30 lakh such speakers and schools were the beneficiaries of this ongoing campaign, according to a state government press release.
As many as 72,509 loudspeakers were removed from various places of worship during the statewide drive while the volume of 56,558 was reduced to permissible levels, it said.
The loudspeakers, which were removed, were handed over to schools. More than 13,145 loudspeakers were donated for the morning assembly of the schools, while as many as 1,583 were handed over for the public address system in the area.
Last month, actor and Gorakhpur MP, Ravi Kishan, tweeted a photo of two government officials handing over two such loudspeakers to the primary school, Gorakhnath Kanya, in Nagar Kshetra.
“Loudspeaker removed from Gorakhnath temple was given to primary school, Gorakhnath Kanya,” he tweeted.
He also said, “In compliance with the court order to remove loudspeakers from places of worship, the loudspeaker was removed from the Gorakhnath temple. It was given to a primary school for educational purpose.”
In Prayagraj too, religious heads of temples and mosques are donating these extra loudspeakers to educational institutions.
Loudspeakers of over a dozen and a half religious places were removed after it was decided that a joint initiative may help curb noise pollution.
On Wednesday, Imam of Shahi mosque at Bahadurganj locality, Ali Miya, handed over a loudspeaker to the manager of Noor Jahan Intermediate College, Haji Ashfaq, in the presence of circle officer (Shahganj) Satyendra Kumar Tiwari.
Ali Miya said the additional loudspeaker would now be used for promoting educational activities.
Similarly, extra loudspeaker removed from Kalyani Devi temple of Old City area was donated to Durga Prasad Shastri School in Daraganj by Mahant Sushil Pathak.
Mandir Samiti chairman Sushil Pathak said he took the initiative after an appeal by the chief minister.
In April, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had asked religious heads to remove unnecessary loudspeakers. Loudspeakers from many temples and mosques were removed while the volume of others was brought within permissible limits.
On April 23, the state’s home department had issued orders to remove loudspeakers from religious places. The CM’s directives were based on an order of the Allahabad high court and the state authorities were on their toes to follow the same in letter and spirit.
The entire process was conducted peacefully and amicably by maintaining dialogue with spiritual leaders of various communities. During the drive, the spiritual leaders were made aware of noise pollution through loudspeakers . Giving out a good message to society, the religious leaders extended their cooperation in removing the loudspeakers.
