LUCKNOW: Following the UP government’s directives issued in connection with the use of loudspeakers in places of worship, the loudspeaker mounted on the spire of the Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura went silent on Wednesday, while the Gautam Budhh Nagar police served notices on around 900 religious places, including temples and mosques over the use of loudspeakers. Moreover, BJP MLA from Aligarh city Mukta Raja wrote a letter to the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) seeking details of loudspeakers mounted at mosques.
The loudspeaker mounted on the spire of Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi temple used to play Manglacharan Aarti daily from 5:30 am to 6:30 am. Now in compliance with the state government directive that the sound of the loudspeaker should be limited to the premises and that it should not go out to the inconvenience of others, the temple management switched off the loudspeaker mounted on the temple.
According to the secretary of Shree Krishna Janmasthan Sewa Sansthan, Kapil Sharma, the decision to switch the loudspeaker off was taken at a meeting of the office bearers of the Sansthan on Tuesday night.
Sharma said that now the bhajans were being played on low sound on speakers inside the temple respecting CM Yogi Adityanath’s directives.
Following the directives issued by Police Commissioner Alok Singh, Gautam Budhh Nagar police officials checked with temples, mosques, and other places of worship, banquet halls and DJ operators to ensure the compliance of state government instructions regarding the use of loudspeakers.
These places were also asked to comply with High Court norms regarding sound amplification devices, a police spokesperson said. "Notices were served on 602 temples out of 621, 265 mosques out of 268, 16 other religious places as well as 217
wedding halls and 175 DJ operators," the police spokesperson of Gautam Buddh Nagar said.
Amid incidents of violence during festivals in some states, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives that no religious procession should be allowed without permission and the use of loudspeakers should not cause inconvenience to others.
Meanwhile, in a letter written to ADM, BJP Aligarh MLA Mukta Raja asked how many mosques had loudspeakers. Raja also asked the ADM about the intensity of the loudspeakers installed at the mosques and if they were in consonance with court directives.
The Aligarh MLA asked the ADM to conduct physical examination of the loudspeakers.
The MLA asked whether the ‘azaan’ in the mosques before 5 in the morning is in accordance with the directions of the court. "If not then what action has been taken so far about this?" added the letter.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, loudspeakers should not be operated after 10 pm and before 6 am and they should be fitted with a 'sound limiter'.