22,000 illegal loudspeakers removed from religious places in Uttar Pradesh

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Close to 22,000 unauthorised loudspeakers were removed from religious places and volume of over 42,000 was set to permissible limits across Uttar Pradesh following a government order, a senior police official said on Thursday.

The state government on April 23 ordered for removal of illegal loudspeakers from religious places in the state.

A statewide drive is being undertaken to remove unauthorised loudspeakers from religious places and set the volume of others within permissible limits, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said.

He added that loudspeakers are being removed from all religious places without any discrimination.

Under this exercise, a total of 21,963 loudspeakers were removed and volume of 42,332 such devices was set within permissible limits till Thursday evening, Kumar said.

Explaining further about the action, he said, "The loudspeakers which are being removed are unauthorised.¿

Those loudspeakers which have been placed without taking due permission from the district administration or the ones which are placed in excess of the permitted numbers are categorised as unauthorised, he added.

He said that orders of the high court regarding loudspeakers are also being considered during the exercise.

The action followed after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, during a review meeting on law and order with senior officials here last week, said people have the freedom to perform their religious practices according to their faith.

"Though microphones can be used, it should be ensured that the sound does not come out of any premises. People should not face any problem,¿ he had said.

The home department has also sought a compliance report from the districts over the removal of loudspeakers from religious places by April 30.
Meanwhile, the state authorities also spoke to religious heads for maintaining law and order during upcoming Alvida Namaz (offering prayers on last Friday of Ramzan) and Eid festivities.

As per information shared by the home department, local officials have spoken to 29,808 heads of different religions.

The authorities have identified 2,846 sensitive places across the state where Namaz is offered.

A total of 46 companies of PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary), seven companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), along with 1,492 police personnel, have been deployed across the state to ensure law and order.

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