Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Haji Arafat Shaikh on Saturday held a meeting with auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers following the government’s August 15 deadline for non-Marathi-speaking drivers to learn Marathi. Shaikh assured the drivers that he would approach the government seeking an extension of the deadline to give those who have not yet learned the language more time.
Shaikh assures drivers
Speaking to reporters, Shaikh said, “I would like to tell the people of Maharashtra, especially the auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers of Maharashtra, that there is no need to worry or be afraid. Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, is capable, and Mumbai’s Guardian Minister, Ashish Shelar, is also capable.”
Shaikh further spoke about the requirement to learn Marathi. He said, “When we had our first meeting, I specifically told Pratap Sarnaik, and through all the unions, we requested that we be given six months. He said that we would certainly be given the required time to learn. Based on that, the government gave us about 100 days till August 15. The drivers are supposed to learn Marathi.”
Monsoon affected language training
Elaborating on the matter, Shaikh said that after the state government gave non-Marathi speakers time to learn the language, he and his associates visited various places, including Bhiwandi and Malegaon, to assess whether drivers were learning Marathi. However, he said that the monsoon created difficulties, with some drivers managing to learn the language while others struggled.
“To teach Marathi, the state had deployed nearly 4,000 teachers to teach drivers. However, there are more than one lakh auto-rickshaws, and during that period, the rains created even more difficulties. Due to this, people did not get enough opportunities to learn. Therefore, teachers were asked to teach the drivers at small party offices and shakhas, which they did. They are not just teaching the drivers but are also conducting written tests to check whether they can write Marathi or not,” he added.
Drivers seek more time
Meanwhile, several drivers expressed concerns over the difficulty of learning the language within the given timeframe. A driver speaking to the reporter said, “I was born in Mumbai and have been driving an auto-rickshaw for many years. I know Marathi, but there are still some auto-rickshaw drivers who are finding it a little difficult. They are willing to learn, but they need some time to do so, and I request the government to give them more time.”
Another driver said that he had learned the basics of Marathi and requested the government to extend the deadline so that drivers could learn more and gradually use the language in their daily lives.
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