The Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR), the apex body of the hotel industry, requested the state government to extend the deadline for using Marathi fonts in signboards.
According to Aahar, the deadline of May 31 is very short and sought six months to implement it.
The state government has made amendments in the Shop and Establishments Act 2017 on having signboards in the Devanagari script.
The order stated that if the signboard displayed the name of any shop or business in more than one script, the one in Devanagari should be bigger. In case of violation, action can be initiated under the Act. The order will cover all establishments like grocery shops, offices, hotels, restaurants, bars and theatres.
Seeking an extension on its implementation, Shivanand Shetty, the president of AHAR said, “We respect the initiative; however, we feel that the state government should have thought it through with respect to the deadline after taking into account lakhs of shops and establishments that need to carry out this.”
