People raised objections to the use of Hindi as one of the three languages in Metro station sign boards
The final stretch of the first phase of the Bengaluru Metro which was inaugurated just last week has already got a controversy attached to itself - largely online. People have raised objections to the use of Hindi as one of the three languages in Metro station sign boards.
Most complaints have been on Twitter with the hashtag #NammaMetroHindiBeda meaning "Our Metro. We don't want Hindi".
Praveen Shetty, President of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had similar sentiments to share. He told NDTV, "This is the Metro of Karnataka, of Bengaluru city. There should be Kannada everywhere, it should be for Kannadigas. That's our demand. Kannada should be in first position in big letters. We don't want Hindi."
"Why should we promote Hindi? We don't want it. It isn't the national language. Even Kannada is a national language," he added.
Metro ridership reached 3 lakh a day after the final line leading to the south of the city was inaugurated and many passengers say the 3 language formula is helpful.
One woman spoke in Kannada, English and Hindi as she told NDTV, "In Bengaluru we have a mixed population so Hindi should be there in metro stations. Many people come from outside Karnataka and they should also be able to communicate. They might not know Kannada so it is a need. Kannada is also important because it's our state language. I feel both Kannada and Hindi are equally important."
Another woman passenger said, "Kannada anyway is there and Hindi should also be there. It will be easier because people from many other places come to Bengaluru and everyone won't be able read Kannada. I don't think they are forcing Hindi on us."
Whereas, Metro authorities said they were just following orders to implement the three language formula in stations as directed by the Ministry of Urban Development.
The Bengaluru Metro is jointly funded by the state and the Centre - and Metro authorities are referring the language issue to the Centre.