The youth wing of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantrik Morcha (BGPM) has set a one-month deadline for shops and business establishments in the Darjeeling hills to write signboards in Nepali along with any other language.

Anit Thapa, the BGPM president and the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), had made the signboard call on April 14.

The BGPM asked the party’s youth wing to ensure that the shops and business establishments followed the directive.

“We find that many establishments have not yet written their signboards in Nepali. It is important to preserve our language and we request that all signboards be written in the Nepali language by August 11,” said a BGPM youth leader.

The youth leader admitted that the party had lost the initial momentum.

“We had started the campaign from May and organised meetings with various hotels and business organisations, apprising them of the development,” said the
youth leader.

“However, since the peak tourism season had started, many were busy with the trade and we did not want to disturb them then. Now is the right time to change the signboards,” the leader said.