Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation installs traffic signals with Marathi countdown timers

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation installs traffic signals with Marathi countdown timers at APMC mark on a trial basis; while some have welcomed the move, a few others have criticised it

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has recently installed a few new traffic signals at the APMC market at Vashi, wherein the numbers displayed on the countdown timers appear in Marathi.

A traffic signal countdown timer in Marathi in Navi Mumbai. (HT PHOTO)

This is for the first time the motorists in Navi Mumbai have come across such traffic signals that display the countdown numbers in a regional language and not in English.

The NMMC official said that they are doing this on a trial basis to understand the feasibility of the new system.

A senior officer from the electrical department said, “We installed the new signals just a few days ago and will see the kind of response we receive from the motorists. If a large number of motorists complain about it, we may even remove them. We also don’t have any plans to install more such traffic signals in other parts of the city.”

While a section of residents has welcomed the move, some others have criticised the civic body for it.

GB More, 52, a resident of Vashi, said, “Marathi is the state language of Maharashtra and we don’t see anything wrong in using it in a few traffic signals. Because of such initiatives, people who do not know the language will also learn it.”

Dolly Sharma, 28, a resident of Sanpada, said, “NMMC is promoting Navi Mumbai as a city of international standard. Apart from people from across the country, a huge number of foreign nationals are also staying and working here. Those people will not understand the Marathi numbers and hence will face trouble. Personally, I found this move a little conservative and inward-looking.”

The city traffic department said that the civic body neither informed it nor took its opinion before installing the new signals.

Purushottam Karad, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “As far as the new initiative is concerned, we really don’t have any idea about the motive of the civic officials. As these signals were installed just a few days ago, it will be too early to talk about their feasibility.”