Rlys safety advises in Marathi a hazard unto themselves
railway campaign urging Mumbai train commuters to use foot overbridges (FOBs) safely has got lost in translation. English and Hindi messages on stickers pasted on the steps were translated into Marathi, and the results are...different.
Stickers on the FOB steps at Santacruz and Goregaon railway stations read: ‘Krupaya lahan chendu gheu naka’, which, in Marathi, means: ‘Please do not use small ball’. The railways intention was to convey: ‘Please do not use short cuts’.
Other messages, which were put up after the Elphinstone Road station stampede, that have gone awry include: ‘Krupaya ektar bajula theva’, which literally means, ‘Please keep aside either’, when the intended advice is: ‘Please walk on one side’; and ‘Krupaya ek pauool vagalu naka’, which means, ‘Please don’t drop a step’ instead of ‘Please don’t miss a step’.
And then there are several typos, such as, ‘Krupaya handroil dharun theva’, which commuters have to interpret as, ‘Please hold the hand rail’.
Sources in Western Railways said Google Translate was used to convert English messages into Marathi.
Photographs of these stickers are now doing the rounds on social media, much to the embarrassment of railway authorities, who have apologised for them and said they would will correct them immediately.
Responding to a tweet, Mukul Jain, divisional railway manager, said this has happened inadvertently. “Concerned officials have been advised to strictly ensure the translations and grammar are correct. We will ensure that proper language is used,” he said.
MUMBAI:A EMBARRASSED STAFF HAVE APOLOGISED AND SAID THEY WILL CORRECT THE MISTAKES IMMEDIATELY