‘All hoardings, banners associated with KMC to have Bengali...’

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Saturday that all hoardings and banners associated with KMC will compulsorily have Bengali language. He will also urge the private agencies and shops to use Bengali language in their respective signage. “I have no objections or inhibitions to Hindi or English language being used in banners, festoons or signages. But additionally ,it should have Bengali language. A directive in this regard will be issued soon,” Hakim said. Councillor Biswarup Dey urged Mayor to take measures to make widescale use of Bengali language in all notifications, advisories, communiques etc of the KMC in the backdrop of Bengali being recognised as classical language.

“We, as Bengali are proud of the recognition. The credit must go to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had written to the centre on more than one occasion pushing for the status. I have recently visited Uttarkhand and there I have found hoardings in their local language,” the Mayor said. He added that may be because of the fact that Bengal had Kolkata as its capital during British rule, English language dominates hoardings and signages in Kolkata. Hakim said that the slums in the cities that have been named as ‘Uttaran’ as per directions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also have Bengali signages, besides the existing in English and Urdu.