The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta on Tuesday urged the Aam Aadmi Party government to remove loudspeakers at religious places, saying that they cause noise pollution in the city.
However, Gupta said that his survey showed no noise pollution occurred due to loudspeakers at temples and gurudwaras, PTI reported.
“Bhajans and kirtans take place only inside the temple or gurudwara premises,” he said at a press conference.
Gupta added that by not removing loudspeakers from religious places, the Delhi government was violating the Supreme Court order on noise pollution.
In July 2005, the Supreme Court had ordered that at public places, noise levels of loudspeakers should not exceed ten decibels above the ambient sound levels for the area, or 75 decibels, whichever is lower. It had also banned the use of loudspeakers and music systems in public places between 10 pm and 6 am.
On Tuesday, Gupta held the press conference a day after he wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal about the removal of loudspeakers. In his letter, Gupta wrote that noise pollution was responsible for the rise in cases of high blood pressure, hearing problems, irritation and sleeplessness.
BJP MP Parvesh Singh Verma had made a similar request in letters sent on Monday to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and commissioners of the three civic bodies of the city.
Verma said that loudspeakers were being removed from religious places in Uttar Pradesh and requested similar action in Delhi.
“It’s requested that necessary instructions be given to the officials concerned, on the lines of the UP government, so that people can have a peaceful atmosphere,” Verma wrote in his letter.
When asked if his request was meant for all religious places, Verma told The Indian Express: “Till now, I have mostly heard mosques using loudspeakers daily.”
Last month, the Uttar Pradesh government had directed the police to remove loudspeakers from religious places that do not comply with Chief Minister Adityanath’s directive that the sound from them should not spill beyond the boundaries of the premises. Adityanath had also ordered that no new microphones could be installed.
The decision had come in view of Eid, Akshaya Tritiya and many other festivals falling in May.
The Maharashtra unit of the BJP and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray have also demanded similar action in the state.
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