Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will focus on using accurate Marathi language for the notice boards placed inside the new and upcoming BEST buses. The decision has been taken after Marathi enthusiasts demanded BEST to appoint proofreaders to ensure linguistic accuracy in the notice boards.

Marathi enthusiasts have been irked by incorrect Marathi instructions in BEST buses. On Monday, a delegation of Surajya Abhiyan, a social welfare campaign by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, has demanded the BEST administration, the minister of Marathi language, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner to ensure that the instructions inside buses are in pure and standardised Marathi.

In response, BEST’s assistant general manager Srinivas Rao assured the delegation that BEST’s new 500 buses and soon-to-be purchased 2,500 buses will have revised and corrected Marathi instructions. He added that a meeting with relevant officials will be held soon to discuss this issue.

Surajya Abhiyaan has demanded BEST to appoint proofreaders within the BEST administration to ensure linguistic accuracy before issuing notices and circulars. A proposal was put forward to have all future instructions and circulars officially verified by proofreaders. Additionally, the need for Marathi language training for BEST employees was also discussed.

“While Marathi has been granted the status of a classical language, the presence of grossly incorrect Marathi words on the instruction boards of BEST buses in Mumbai, has sparked outrage among Marathi language enthusiasts. While BEST buses are upgrading with air-conditioned and electric vehicles, why is the standard of the Marathi language deteriorating? We demand BEST to immediately address this issue and prevent the continued degradation of Marathi in Maharashtra’s capital,” said Abhishek Murukate, state coordinator of Surajya Abhiyan Maharashtra.

The meeting was also attended by Mumbai High Court advocate Rahul Patkar, advocate Prathamesh Gaikwad, Adv. Surabhi Sawant, Hindu Rashtra Coordination Committee convenor Subhash Ahir, Nikhil Date, Surajya Abhiyan representative Prasad Mankar, and BEST’s Public Relations Officer Sudas Sawant.

The letters written to BEST and Marathi language minister claimed that citizens and members of Surajya Abhiyan have often spotted incorrect spellings on the boards placed in the buses. The letter highlighted spelling errors in words like polisana, pratiksha, pravashani, nagrikana, etc. Moreover, it has also demanded to place accurate punctuation marks and use Marathi words for mobile phone.