With less than two weeks left for the August 28 deadline to display Marathi nameboards, signs of panic are becoming visible among shopkeepers and other businessmen across the city, with many choosing to play it safe and go for new boards well ahead of the date.

The deadline to adhere to a rule to display names in Marathi along with English or Hindi was set by the BMC. But it gained added urgency after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray joined the bandwagon and took upon himself to enforce the deadline. He threatened shopkeepers earlier this month saying that it was up to them to decide whether it would be cheaper to have Marathi boards or continue with their business without them.

“Changing signboards time and again is such a pain,” said an exasperated shopkeeper in Andheri’s Lokhandwala market, not wanting to be identified for fear of being targeted. “A few months ago we changed our signboard when the Shiv Sena said English signboards have to be changed to Hindi or Marathi. Then, we changed it to Hindi. Now we have to change it to Marathi. It is very unfair, each time we have to shell out nearly Rs 25,000 to 30,000.”

But despite the costs involved, many shopkeepers said they had grudgingly decided to make the change than risk trouble. “Yes, we do fear our shop will be targeted if we don't change the signboard, so despite the short notice we are going to put a new signboard before the deadline,” said Hemant Patil, manager of Book Lovers in Andheri.

And then there are also those who have willingly changed their signboard. “What is the big deal if we have to change signboards to the local language, after all we must all respect it,” said 74-year-old Dutta Vartak, who runs Oriental Photo House in Byculla. “And it does not cost much if you want a simple signboard. I changed my signboard earlier this month itself, way before the deadline.”

He is not the only one not complaining though. Signboard makers across the city said that business had grown by at least 10 per cent in recent weeks and it is not just small shopkeepers but even MNCs who are making a beeline to them.

Sanjay Aiyer, director of Innovations Unlimited from Kandivili, said, “There is definitely a spurt in the number of enquiries made each day, and about 10 per cent of these are getting converted into actual orders. Most shopkeepers don't know if BMC will actually penalise them if they fail to comply with the order and hence they don’t want to take any chances.” He said major names such as Toyota, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and NIIT were among those who had approached him.