AGRA: The

has banned religious activities on roads after a group of right wing organisations started reciting "

" and performing Maha

on the streets on every Tuesday and Saturday as retaliation to Muslims offering Namaz on streets.

Confirming this, Aligarh district magistrate,

, said that no religious activities, including the

, are allowed on roads without permission. He said that everyone has freedom of following their religion but at religious places only and not on roads. "I spoke to the representatives of the organizations that indulged in such activities in the recent past and told them about the sensitivity of the issue," he said, adding that the law and order situation can be disturbed by such activities.

Singh said, since the city is communally sensitive, any small issue can spoil the atmosphere. He further added that the ban is also applicable on offering namaz on roads too but exempted on certain occasions like Eid, when a large number of people gather together.

Several right wing organisations including

had organised Hanuman Aarti outside the temples on every Tuesday and Saturday of this month, leading to chaos on the streets due to the participation of a large number of people. In fact, former Aligarh mayor from BJP, Shakuntala Bharti, took part in the Maha Aarti and recitation of Hanuman Chalisa on the last Saturday.

Activists of religious groups have registered their opposition against the minority community, who offer namaz on roads, by reciting Hanuma Chalisa on roads, said a senior BJP leader.

According to BJP general secretary in Aligarh city unit, Manav Mahajan, If one community can block the road for offering namaz, then why can’t the Hindus perform Maha Aarti on roads. However, Hindus do not block roads, he claimed, adding that there are several temples available for them but sometime due to excessive crowds they came on the streets .

He said that he is thankful to the people who started this tradition to confront the practice of offering namaz on roads. "At least this became an issue for a debate," added Mahajan. He further said that roads are for commuting not for religious activities.