‘Kannada boards must by Nov. 1’

‘Kannada boards must by Nov. 1’
BENGALURU







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On Oct. 31 night, around 10,000 KRV workers will go round the city checking display boards of shops and if they find English- only boards, they will either bring them down or blacken them.
Come November 1 if shops and business establishments in the city do not have display boards in Kannada, they will invite penalty, warns labour minister Bacche Gowda.

The minister adds that the penalty could go up to Rs 10,000. In addition to making sure their display boards are in Kannada, shops and industries run by the government will have to hoist the Karnataka flag. If they don’t, the officials concerned could be in for a hard time. The minister plans to hold a meeting with chairman of the Kannada Development Authority Mukhyamantri Chandru on October 30 to ensure that things are in place for enforcement of the rules.

While shopkeepers have nothing against the new rules, they are unhappy that some amount of coercion seems to be involved in implementing them. “These rules have been around for a long time and we do follow them. But they suddenly seem to have gained importance for the Rajyotsava Day,” says Suhail Yusuf, secretary, Brigade’s Shops and Establishments Association (BSEA).

“We understand that this is an old rule and we ensure that it is followed. If we see that a shop does not have a display board with the name written in Kannada, then we, on behalf of the BSEA, send a notice to it asking to put it up as early as possible,” he says.

While he feels that Kannada boards reflect the culture of the city, he does not think it is right to push the language down the throats of people.

“It should be accepted with love. It is wrong for shopkeepers to be threatened with violence if the Kannada display boards are not put up,” he adds.

He does not think a big issue should be made about the font size used on the dis play boards.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Narayan Gowda said, “preference should be given to Kannada language.” On October 31 night, around 10,000 KRV workers will go round the city checking display boards of shops and if they find English-only boards, they will either bring them down or paint them black.

It is the government’s duty to give priority to the local language so we wholly support this move.”