Mumbai, April 15: The Maharashtra government has made it mandatory for all licensed auto rickshaw and taxi drivers in the state to learn Marathi from May 1.
Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik said on Tuesday that a Marathi language learning campaign will be conducted across the state through the offices of the transport department.
Sarnaik’s office warned in a statement that the licenses of drivers who do not have basic knowledge of Marathi will be cancelled.
“Along with the Maharashtra Day on May 1, it will be mandatory for all licensed rickshaw and taxi drivers to know Marathi. A state-wide inspection campaign will be conducted through 59 regional and sub-regional offices of the Motor Transport Department to check whether the drivers can read and write the language,” the minister said.
Sarnayak noted that although a rule mandating knowledge of the local language for issuing licenses is already in place, it is being widely violated.