Bijnor, Apr 9: Hindu residents belonging to the Jogirampura village in Uttar Pradesh have threatened to leave the village of they are not allowed to use loudspeakers on the rooftop of a temple. Displaying their protest, many Hindu residents of the village have put up notices stating the sale of their properties. Also Read - 300-Year-Old Shiva Temple Buried in Sand Unearthed by Villagers in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore

The dispute in the village began after the installation of loudspeakers on the rooftop of a Shiva temple on the occasion of Ram Navami. After the installation of loudspeakers by the members of Hindu Yuva Vahini, the other community objected to the installation. The objection led to a conflict between the two communities after which the police was deployed to the village. The police and administrative officers removed the loudspeaker which was unacceptable to the Hindu community. Also Read - Watch | Muslim Man Develops a Contactless Sensor Bell For Pashupatinath Temple in Madhya Pradesh

Reacting to the action of the administrative officers, the Hindu homes in the village on Friday night had notices stating ‘This house for sale’. Justifying the installation of the loudspeaker, the members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini have stated that a set of loudspeakers were installed on the rooftop of the temple ten years ago. “This is not the first time loudspeakers were put up. We are only re-installing them.There should be no objection to that,” Hindu Yuva Vahini coordinator NP Singh said to Economic Times. Also Read - COVID-19 Bringing Out The Worst in People! UP Youth Beaten to Death by Cousins For Not Getting Test Done

Reacting on the issue, the Hindu residents of the village have stated that the temple is 400 years old and it had a loudspeaker in 2007, but the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) governments have asked the temple authorities to remove the loudspeaker. “We were oppressed during the SP and BSP regimes.We were waiting for BJP to come to power so we could in stall the loudspeakers. We urged the HYV to install them. But if we can’t do this even with a BJP government in the state, what is the point of living in this village? We do not feel safe,” a village resident said. (Also Read- BJP MLA halts reconstruction of a 200-year-old mosque in Simbhaoli constituency)

Dayaram Saini, the president of the temple committee said that the authorities have asked them to use loudspeakers only during festivals to which he had refused. Saini said that they will be using the loudspeaker every day during Aarti.

With the tension mounting between both the communities, police have been deployed in force to prevent violence in the village. However, the area continued to be restive on Saturday.