There have been voices against the loudspeakers at mosque. But for the first time a senior IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre Shailbala Martin has objected to the loudspeaker of temples.
Her social media post questioning the public address system installed at temples causing noise pollution has sparked a controversy in Madhya Pradesh with religious groups calling for protests against the officer.
Last week, a debate over the public address system causing noise pollution began after the death of a 13-year-old boy during the Durga idol emersion in Bhopal. The boy was dancing to a DJ sound and collapsed all of a sudden and died on Friday.
Following the incident, Madhya Pradesh Police swung into action and started an investigation into the case while the incident also started a debate on the issue.
A journalist on the social media platform X questioned the disparity in enforcement, focusing on the use of public address systems in mosques and the prevalence of DJs playing music outside these spaces.
Responding to the post, the 2009 batch IAS officer Shailbala Martin said that noise pollution caused by the public address system in temples – questioning why such disturbances, which can be heard several streets away and continue late into the night – are often overlooked.
However, the officer's post wasn't received well by the rightwing organisation ‘Sanskriti Bachao Manch' head Chandrashekhar Tiwari, saying that they would stage a protest against the officer.
Meanwhile, Congress Spokesperson Abbas Hafeez said IAS officer Shailbala Martin has raised a genuine question.
“A senior officer has raised questions on the BJP government's biased action against the public address system,” Hafeez said.
Martin is currently serving as the Additional Secretary in the General Administration Department (GAD). She began her career in the State Civil Service (SCS) before being promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) on June 12, 2017.
She has held various positions, including roles in the Health Department in 2014, Municipal Commissioner of Burhanpur in 2019, and Collector of Niwari district the same year.
Since January 25, 2022, she has been serving as Additional Secretary in the General Administration Department.
Last year, the Madhya Pradesh government issued guidelines to mitigate noise pollution, which specifically aimed to regulate the public address system in religious venues.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
