Bhopal, Jul 21 (IANS): The Madhya Pradesh government has asked the people associated with hotels and eateries or have shops to display their names and mobile numbers prominently outside their business establishments.

The state government’s order follows a similar directive by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh for eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route.

The Madhya Pradesh government has said they will implement the new directives in the holy city of Ujjain.

“The owners of shops, hotels, eateries and others in Ujjain city have been asked to display their names and mobile numbers outside their establishments, which should be clearly visible from the outside. A penalty of Rs 2,000 will be imposed on violators for the first time and Rs 5,000 if they defy the order for the second time,” Ujjain Mayor Mukesh Tatwal said.

Ujjain Mayor said that the order is in accordance with the Madhya Pradesh Shop Establishment Act or Gumasta License and is being implemented to enhance customer safety.

“Ujjain is a religious and holy city and the people have a right to know about the shopkeeper whose services they are availing. If a customer is dissatisfied or cheated, knowing the shopkeeper's details allows them to seek redress,” Tatwal added.

Sources told IANS that the local administrations in some other cities in Madhya Pradesh have also planned to adopt the same process and have started pushing the state government.

Some local BJP leaders have also demanded Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to make the display of shop owners' names and mobile numbers mandatory across the state.

BJP MLA from Indore-2, Ramesh Mendola has written to the Chief Minister and urged him to make it mandatory for all shopkeepers to display their names outside their shops in Indore.

“The name of any person is his identity. A person is proud of his name. Asking for the name is the customer's right and the shopkeeper should be proud to tell his name and not be ashamed,” Mendola wrote in his letter.