Chaos as announcement inside Namma Metro was in Tamil

Originally written for and submitted to the Faking News Forum.

Bangalore. Chaos on the opening day of the much awaited Bangalore’s Namma Metro as passenger announcement inside the coaches was made in Tamil. Most Bangaloreans who were eager to check out the Metro Rail on the first day were surprised to hear Tamil announcements. Ramesh, a Kannadiga by birth said “I was so confused that for a moment I thought I had boarded a Chennai Local Train”.

Recent survey has confirmed that only 33% of the total Bangalore population are Kannadigas. According to 2011 census, Bangalore’s population has ballooned in the past decade mainly due to the IT flourish. Majority of the migrants in the city are from Tamil Nadu. A clear indication as to why Chennai’s population is less than half of Bangalore’s.

“There is a huge raise in the number of Tamilians who have settled in the city and Kannadigas are almost an extinct species. If we have to win the next state elections, we have to support and encourage Tamil in Bangalore. Announcements in Tamil was a strategic move and was not a mistake. The 6.2 km stretch from Byappanahalli to MG Road is Tamil dominated. If Tamil helps a major chunk of the Metro travelers in this route, then why not?” asked Transport Minister R. Ashok to Faking News.

Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda also reacted by stating that talks were on to make Tamil as the official language of Karnataka and soon a bill will be passed in the next session.

Critics told Faking News that Jayalalitha’s visit to Bangalore on the day of the launch of Namma Metro was a wrongly publicized in the media. She was not supposed to answer questions at the court. Infact she had come down to Bangalore to record the next set of announcements for Phase 2 of the metro. “I am very happy that my fellow Tamilians in Bangalore will hear to my voice daily”, said Jayalalitha.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Visveswara Hegde Kageri told Faking News that steps will soon be initiated to introduce and mandate Tamil as the first language in all Government schools across Karnataka. “If today’s kids learn and understand Tamil, their future will be bright in Bangalore”, said the minister.

TCS, which has 10 offices in Bangalore has recently included Tamil in the language skill set for freshers in addition to C, C++ and Java. “4 out of 5 TCS employees are Tamilians. We are planning to rename our company to Tamil Consultancy Services”, said a senior HR Manager.

Vatal Nagaraj staged a protest on MG Road today demanding announcements to be made in Kannada. He also threatened to ride donkeys on the metro rails if the move is not withdrawn.

“Vanakkam”

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