Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai. File
| Photo Credit: M. Moorthy
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has come under fire for issuing daily weather bulletins in Hindi, in addition to Tamil and English, on its website, a practice that was introduced at least six months ago.
The RMC serves as the headquarters for weather services in the southern States and two Union Territories.
The centre has also started providing 24-hour rainfall forecasts for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and the Karaikal region in three languages: English, Tamil, and Hindi.
This has sparked controversy among leaders from Tamil Nadu, who have alleged that it is another attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking States.
In a social media post on X, Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan criticised the Union government for not providing financial assistance for the State’s disaster relief initiatives, while “imposing Hindi” through weather forecasts. The move shows that the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu has never been a priority for the ruling BJP at the Centre, he said.
The row comes in light of the State’s firm stance against the imposition of Hindi and its commitment to the two-language policy.
‘Efforts to promote Hindi’
Officials of the RMC, meanwhile, said the move was only “part of the efforts to promote Hindi as per the instructions of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language,” under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
B. Amudha, Head (additional charge), RMC, Chennai, said the updates in Hindi were included on the website from October 2024.
This was done as part of an initiative to promote the Hindi language, along with English and Tamil, as per the instructions. An official, who is a designated Hindi translator, was appointed in July 2023 for the purpose.
Published – March 27, 2025 02:55 pm IST
