Flaunt Kannada or lose licence

Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials have begun issuing notices to all those commercial establishments that have not yet incorporated Kannada in their sign boards and name plates. They have given erring commercial establishments 15 days to make the addition in Kannada or pay a fine.

One June 23, the BBMP had made it mandatory for all signboards and hoardings to have information written in Kannada in a font bigger than the other languages on display.
On Friday, during a review meeting with officials, the BBMP commissioner, Bharat Lal Meena, said that commercial establishments have to implement this at the earliest. He said, “Our purpose is to give importance to Kannada, as it is the language of the state. Those who do not do so will be fined.”

A senior BBMP official said that officials had conducted a survey in all the zones in this regard and have issued notices to those commercial establishments that have not yet implemented the new rule. In Commercial street area alone, at least 27 shops have been issued the notice, he said.

Meena, however, added that advertisement hoardings, that are of a commercial aspect, will not be intruded upon by the Palike. “However, there should not be any obscene hoarding in Bangalore,” he said.