The Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir accused the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation of deliberately neglecting Urdu in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
In a letter written to GHMC Commissioner and Special Officer Somesh Kumar on Saturday, Shabbir Ali said that following representations from several Urdu-speaking people and NGOs, he had personally inspected the places where the GHMC was installing new signboards for various localities.
"I regret to say that the GHMC has completely neglected the Urdu language in all the signboards. The signboards of various localities, directions and other information are in the English and Telugu languages only," he said in his letter.
"Urdu is the second official language in nine out of the 10 districts of Telangana. Urdu is a widely-spoken language in the GHMC limits, and the Urdu-speaking population comprises over 42% of the total population in the Hyderabad district alone. Therefore, it is mandatory for the GHMC and all institutions to have all their signboards in the Telugu, Urdu and English languages. They cannot not ignore the Urdu language, for whatever reason," Shabbir Ali said.
Shabbir Ali warned that a massive dharna would be organised before the GHMC Headquarters at Tank Bund if the corporation failed to rectify its mistake in one week by ensuring that all signboards were in all three languages including Urdu.
filed in:Telangana Congress, GHMC, Urdu, Shabbir Ali, Municipal Bodies, Telangana