BMC makes it mandatory for shops to use signboards in Marathi

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday said that the signboards of all the shops and business establishments in Mumbai should mandatorily have the name of the shops written in Marathi in Devanagari scripts along with any other language. By issuing a statement on Wednesday, the BMC also stated that the font size of the letters in the Marathi language should be prominently visible and should be larger than the fonts of other languages that are being used on the signboards.

BMC’s move came one month after the state legislature approved the amendment of the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 2017 and made it compulsory for all the shops and business establishments in Maharashtra to have their names written in the Marathi language.

In the circular, the BMC also stated that any shops or establishments that sell or supply alcohol or liquor should not be named after an eminent personality or forts of Maharashtra and in terms of violation of rules, the owner of these establishments will be prosecuted.

“In pursuance of the provisions of the act, the BMC appeals to all the merchants in Mumbai to display the nameplates on their shops/establishments at first in Marathi ‘Devanagari’ script and then in any other language,” the statement read.