BBMP suspends health officer for destroying English boards

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has suspended one of its health officers who had ordered his staff to damage English nameboards because they didn’t follow the 60% Kannada rule. 

The civic body took action against K L Vishwanath, a senior health officer from KR Puram, after videos widely shared on social media showed BBMP workers tearing down English letters from the name boards of shops and other commercial establishments on TC Palya Main Road in eastern Bengaluru. 

The BBMP’s Joint Commissioner (Mahadevapura Zone) suspended Vishwanath on February 23 under Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Act, 1965. 

The BBMP has issued an order, mandating that all commercial establishments in Bengaluru city limits have 60% Kannada in their name boards. It has a February 28 deadline for complying with the rule and asked its health officers to cover the English name boards with clothes if owners do not follow the orders after being served notices. 

However, the KR Puram health officer deviated from the instructions given by the BBMP top brass. 

A traders’ association has requested the civic body not to take any coercive action against establishments before the deadline, saying they are making efforts to comply with the 60% Kannada rule.