Cooch Behar: Bengali signboards made mandatory

Cooch Behar: After Siliguri, Cooch Behar town is set to introduce Bengali signboards across all shops and institutions. The decision was taken at the board meeting of Cooch Behar Municipality

on Thursday.

As many as 17 councillors, along with Chairman Rabindra Nath Ghosh, attended the meeting. Following discussions, the board unanimously resolved to make the use of Bengali compulsory on shop sign boards as well as in the nameplates of government and private institutions.

“This is a special decision taken in the board meeting. It will now be mandatory to use Bengali on all boards within the town. Notices will be sent to shopkeepers and institutions and the announcement will also be made through public miking before the rule is enforced,” said Chairman Ghosh. However, the move has sparked political debate. BJP district vice-president Biraj Bose criticised the decision, calling it “divisive politics”. “Trinamool Congress often accuses BJP of creating division, but here they are imposing their own decision. Bangla is our mother tongue and we respect it deeply. But Cooch Behar is home to diverse communities. It is unfair for the municipality to dictate which language should appear on a shop’s board,” Bose said.