Hindi removed from Sathankulam highway signboard; two engineers suspended
Tamil Nadu removed Hindi lettering from a direction board on SH-93 and suspended two highways engineers pending an inquiry.
Representative illustration created for My Nilgiris; not a photograph of the Sathankulam signboard.
THOOTHUKUDI, October 3, 2026: The Tamil Nadu government has removed Hindi lettering from a State Highways Department direction board on the Sathankulam–Nazareth section of State Highway 93 and temporarily suspended two engineers after the sign triggered a political controversy.
The board was installed at Valliammalpuram in Thoothukudi district. It showed the destinations Tirunelveli, Alwarthirunagari, Thoothukudi and Tiruchendur in Tamil, Hindi and English, according to reports published by The Indian Express Tamil, The Times of India and NDTV.
Departmental action
Assistant Divisional Engineer N. Boominathan and Assistant Engineer T. Muthulakshmi were suspended pending departmental inquiry. Highways Minister Aadhav Arjuna said the trilingual board resulted from official carelessness and that the state government’s Tamil–English policy had not changed. The board was subsequently replaced or corrected to remove the Hindi row.
The issue drew objections from political parties, including DMK president M.K. Stalin, who accused the government of departing from Tamil Nadu’s established two-language policy.
What road-sign rules say
The Times of India reported that a 2004 Union road ministry circular requires advance-information signs on National Highways to carry the local language, Hindi and English and asks states to adopt the practice. It also reported that the Indian Roads Congress code IRC:67-2022 does not require Hindi on State Highway direction boards; states may use the regional language and English, adding Hindi where considered necessary.
Image note: The featured image is a representative illustration created by My Nilgiris. It is not a photograph of the actual Sathankulam signboard.
