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Thane, 16 April. Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Pratap Sarnaik has said that from May 1, it will be mandatory for all licensed rickshaw and taxi drivers in the state to know Marathi and a statewide campaign in this regard will be launched through the offices of the Motor Transport Department. In a statement issued from his office, Sarnaik warned that drivers who do not have basic knowledge of Marathi will have their licenses cancelled.

Drivers who do not have basic knowledge of Marathi, their licenses will be canceled

Pratap Sarnaik said, ‘From May 1, which is also Maharashtra Day, it will be mandatory for all licensed rickshaw and taxi drivers to know Marathi. A state-wide inspection drive will be conducted through 59 regional and sub-regional offices of the motor transport department to check whether drivers can read and write this language.’

Rule requiring knowledge of local language for issuing license already in force

He said that the rule requiring knowledge of local language for issuing licenses is already in place, but it is being violated on a large scale. He emphasized that the Transport Department has received many complaints. Especially in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur, drivers are unable or hesitant to speak to passengers in Marathi.

The Shiv Sena leader further said, ‘It is everyone’s duty to learn the language of the area where you do your work. While it is important to be proud of one’s mother tongue, it is equally important to respect the language while working in that state.

Strict action will also be taken against transport officials for wrongly issuing licenses.

He said that this strictness will not be limited to drivers only. The minister said, ‘Strict action will also be taken against those officials of the transport department who are found guilty of issuing licenses wrongly by ignoring these fixed rules.’