Signboards in Hindi from at least three Metro stations were removed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) on Friday.
The sign boards from entrances of K R Market station, Chickpet station and the south entrance of Kempegowda interchange station were taken down.
These boards had the names of the respective stations in Kannada, English and Hindi.
BMRCL officials could not be reached for comment. However, a source in BMRCL said that boards with Hindi signs were being removed in a phased manner.
The removal of the boards comes after an outcry by several pro-Kannada organisations against ‘Hindi imposition’ by the Centre.
Members of these groups had even blackened the Hindi script on the name boards of several Metro stations in the city. There was also a campaign for the cause on social media.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah supported their concern. Last week, he had written to Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Narendra Singh Tomar, saying it was ‘not essential’ to have Hindi boards in Bengaluru. He had also pointed out that the state had made more financial contributions to BMRCL than the Centre, though they have equal stake in it.
BMRCL managing director had earlier given a verbal assurance to the chairman of Kannada Development Authority (KDA) S G Siddaramaiah that Hindi would be dropped from Metro boards.
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