Will deface all Hindi boards in Namma Metro after July 6, KRV threatens

For close to a week now, Pro-Kannada organisations have been campaigning for #NammaMetroHindiBeda The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) president has alleged that "Hindification" is rampant in Namma Metro  Reports indicate that the Kannada Development Authority may recommend action on the issue 

The partial covering of Hindi Boards at Namma Metro stations with tape in the wake of #NammaMetroHindiBeda campaign against "Hindification" in Namma Metro seems to have not gone well with the pro-Kannada organisations.

The Metro authorities had covered up the boards (in Hindi) only in a few stations and this was being perceived as an attempt to hoodwink the champions of Kannada. For, at Krishna Rajendra Market, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Vijayanagar, Magado Road and other stations, boards written in Hindi were still visible.

Taking objection to it, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president TA Narayan Gowda has threatened to blacken the boards with Hindi on July 6, if the Metro authorities fail to remove the boards in Hindi in all its 42 stations, reports Kannada Prabha.

"The attempt to cover boards in Hindi at Majestic and Chikpete stations were just an eyewash in the wake of #NammaMetroHindiBeda campaign. If the Metro authorities are under the impression that this would "console" the Kannada activists, they are highly mistaken. We are not going to keep quiet with their "trick". So, we have decided to smear all the boards with Hindi in black on July 6 to mark our protest," Narayan gowda told Kannada Prabha.

Narayan Gowda also alleged that since Pradeep Singh Kharola has taken charge as Banglaore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BRMCL) Managing Director (2011), "Hindification" is rampant in Namma Metro. The Vedike will meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, seeking his transfer, reports Kannada Prabha.

Meanwhile, Prof SG Siddaramaiah, chairperson of Kannada Development Authority told Kannada Prabha that the Namma Metro authorities have not responded to the notices issued seeking clarification on "Hindification". "Their refusal to answer the notices issued by a government agency will be considered serious. We will wait for them to reply till Thursday, failing in which we will recommend the government to initiate action against the Namma Metro authorities," Siddaramaiah said.