Vandalism on Chowringhee in 2004 by several organisations under the umbrella of Bhasa O Chetana Samity, demanding Bengali signboards at stores. A Telegraph picture

Coinciding with International Mother Language Day, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation will start a crackdown on Wednesday on shop-owners who are yet to use Bengali on their signboards. The CPM-led civic body has made it mandatory for shop-owners to use Bengali on signboards, failing which the trade licence of the shops will not be renewed in the next fiscal.

“We are encouraging shop-owners to write in Bengali, along with other languages like English, Hindi or Urdu,” municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.

He and mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya passed the crackdown order on Tuesday.

According to the order, officials will go on a door-to-door check of the signboards in various city pockets, especially in the Dalhousie-Esplanade-Camac Street zone.

Shops without a Bengali signboard will be given a deadline to make amends. To make the process easier, the civic body has announced a few options — the shop-owners may add the Bengali name on the existing signboard or can put up a separate Bengali signboard.

The civic authorities will launch a campaign to spread awareness on the issue. Mayoral council member Dipankar De will be present at an awareness special meeting in Esplanade on Wednesday.