Pro-Kannada outfits on Wednesday entered Bengaluru city from Sadahalli toll plaza, holding a massive rally in support of sixty per cent signboards and logos in Kannada.
Visuals from the spot showed men and women pulling apart individual English letter signages of a popular chain of hotels at Sadahalli toll plaza while shouting slogans.
Police security has been tightened near the toll plaza with barricades being set up to prevent the rally from entering the main city area.
A report in Times of India stated that several traders’ associations in Chickpet have asked owners of shops and business establishments to put up nameboards with 60% of signage in Kannada before the deadline of February 28.
The urgent request has been made to avoid unwanted legal action by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike as well as interruption by pro-Kannada activists.
Chickpet sub-division police officials also held a meeting with traders in their jurisdiction to seek their cooperation.
According to the report, police said the traders can run their business without any hurdle if they put up nameboards with 60% signage in Kannada.
A trader who participated in the meeting was quoted as saying that the officials from BBMP and the police department assured the stakeholders that nobody will disturb them till February 28. As a result, the traders’ community is spreading awareness among businessmen and requesting them to change the boards.
“We are spreading awareness by sending messages through WhatsApp and other social media. We are ready to abide by the directive,” a trader was quoted.
At a meeting with senior officials on Tuesday, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath asked them to issue notices to those shops dilly-dallying on the issue, suspend their trade licence initially if they are not willing and later cancel it.
A report in Deccan Herald stated that the ’60 per cent Kannada on name boards’ rule has created confusion among traders. Many traders are reportedly unaware of the notification.
“We got to know that there was such a rule only through the media reports in the last two days,” Kailash Balar, Secretary, Karnataka Hosiery and Garment Association, was quoted as saying.
A senior police officer in charge of the Chickpet subdivision was quoted: “They had a misconception that the rule was being imposed by certain organisations and hence had many confusions. Noting this confusion among the traders, we voluntarily took the initiative and conducted an awareness meeting.”
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