Kannada cell should be set up in industries and establishments to promote Kannada on the lines of Hindi cells in various banks for the implementation of Hindi language, said Kannada Development Authority (KDA) Chairman T S Nagabharana.
Chairing a meeting on the implementation of Kannada, he said the constitution of Kannada cells in establishments will increase the usage of Kannada, which in turn will help in the growth of the local state language.
The name boards of the establishments and offices should be written compulsorily in Kannada. 'Kannada kaanisi, Kannada kelisi' campaign should be implemented. He said all the schools should make singing Nadageethe mandatory.
People should be made custodians of Kannada by making them understand the importance of the language in education, employment and administration. The New Education Policy has given emphasis to regional languages. The language should be developed through the community. “A language grows when a community loves, respects language,” he said.
He said that he has directed MRPL to mount signboards in Kannada on its premises. The MRPL MD had informed that out of 170 employees recruited recently, 14 were Kannadigas. In spite of conducting the exams in Karnataka, not many Kannadigas had applied for the post, Nagabharana said quoting authorities from MRPL.
“I have asked the MRPL, MD Venkatesh, to give priority to Kannadigas while recruiting the employees. I have asked the MRPL to prepare proceedings of the meeting held on Thursday for placing it before the Board of the MRPL to take a call on giving priority and have asked them to submit a copy of the same to KDA so that I can pursue the matter with the union ministry,” said Nagabharana.
He said that he has directed banks to use Kannada in their daily transaction. The challan, checkbooks, name boards, advertisement boards, and receipts should have Kannada. During a meeting at the Bank of Baroda in Mangaluru on Thursday, Nagabharana said banks should give priority to Kannada. Three language policies should be implemented.
Employees working in Karnataka should learn Kannada compulsorily. Conduct Kannada learning classes for employees from other states and take action against those who are not willing to learn the language, he told the bank heads. There is a need for a mindset to learn the Kannada language.
Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V said that as per the Sarojini Mahishi recommendations, 70% of the employees should be Kannadigas. However, MRPL has 63 % of Kannadiga employees.