Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to fine commercial establishments Rs 2,000 each for not displaying signboards in Marathi.A decision in this regard was taken during a meeting chaired by municipal commissioner Ashok Karanjkar on Friday. All six divisional officers and deputy commissioner (tax) of NMC Shrikant Pawar were present for the meeting.Pawar, while talking to TOI, said all commercial establishments in the city will mandatorily have to display signboards in Marathi at the earliest. Failing to do so, every errant commercial establishment will be fined Rs 2,000, he added. The civic administration has also appealed to the commercial establishments to follow the norm to avoid action against them. However, no deadline has been issued by them for abiding by the rule.Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, a group of MNS workers blackened the English signboards of some establishments in College Road area of the city. Earlier a delegation of MNS office-bearers had met Karanjkar, demanding implementation of the Marathi signboard rule for commercial establishments. But there was no action taken by the civic administration.As a result many commercial establishments in the city had not put up signboards in Marathi. This forced the MNS workers to stage a protest and blacken the signboards of commercial establishments.When contacted, Sanjay Sonawane, chairman of North Maharashtra chapter of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture (MACCIA), said it doesnt matter if they need to display the name of commercial establishments in Marathi, but they should be given at least 15 days or a month to abide by the rules. The civic body should start imposing fines against errant owners of the commercial establishments only after the allotted time-frame comes to an end, Sonawane said.We also published the following articles recentlyEstablish taxi counter at port in Mormugao, TTAG tells govtThe Travel & tourism association of Goa (TTAG) urged the tourism department to install a taxi counter at the Mormugao Port in Vasco. TTAG raised concerns over the absence of taxi counters at the port and requested a similar system to airports for taxi operators. TTAG also requested the tourism director to ensure that taxis display fare charts and that tourists can choose any service. TTAG emphasized the need for a queue system and urged the government to prevent exorbitant rates and take action against taxi operators not allowing pre-booked vehicles.Huawei and Changan Establish Joint Venture for Smart Car OperationsHuawei transfers core technologies to a joint venture with Changan Auto, focusing on intelligent automotive systems. The objective is to drive innovation and leadership in smart car technology. Equity ratio and capital contributions will be negotiated. Huawei collaborates with Chery and Seres Group, producing Aito-branded cars. Over 50,000 orders received for the revamped M7 model.Chinas Sinopec to establish $4.5 billion refinery at Lankas Hambantota portThe Sri Lankan cabinet has given clearance to Chinas energy major Sinopec to establish a $4.5 billion petroleum refinery plant at the strategic Hambantota port. This will be the largest foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka. The upcoming plant will be supplemented with an associated products training center. Hambantota is Sri Lankas second largest port, managed under a joint venture between the Sri Lanka Port Authority and China Merchant Ports. The ports construction was funded by a commercial loan from Exim Bank China.

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