BENGALURU, 14 MARCH

With the deadline for complying with 60 per cent use of Kannada in signboards of businesses and establishments coming to an end, a vast majority of them in the City appear to have obeyed the mandate, with many even going for stopgap arrangements, aimed at ensuring compliance.

A bill mandating 60 per cent use of Kannada in signboards of businesses and establishments was passed by the Karnataka Assembly in February, and the government had warned that non-compliance would lead to the cancellation of the licences of businesses.

Now, temporary boards or banners instead of boards that are not rules compliant, and also clothes or stickers covering the old boards, can be seen at several places in the city, in a bid to avoid fines and other penal action.

Many traders say that in the wake of rules and the deadline for compliance, board makers or artists were besieged by traders and businesses with orders. There are supply side constraints, with an inadequate number of competent board artists to meet the surge in demand, coupled with resources and logistic issues.

A shop owner said he had been to several board makers and artists, and many did not take his order, citing that "their hands are full."

Agreeing that there have been some delays on their part in delivering orders on time as required by the customers, board designers and manufacturers say, the process is time-consuming, and they are also facing a shortage of manpower to meet the sudden rise in demand, along with logistic issues.

According to official sources out of 50,357 shops and commercial establishments that were identified for violations, 49,732 have complied with the new rules, and the remaining 625 shops are yet to comply or are in the process.