Chhattisgarh Government was seriously thinking of providing facilities to study Odia language in the districts adjoining to Odisha state, where the number of Odia speaking people is more, said school education minister Brijmohan Agrawal.

He said, as Odisha and Chhattisgarh are neighbours, mutual cooperation of both the state governments was necessary for the protection and development of the local languages of both. Agrawal expressed these views at a meeting with the Odisha Assembly Minority language sub-committee delegation here at his residence on Wednesday.

The minister said that historic, financial and cultural relations between Chhattisgarh and Odisha were ages old and large number of Odia speaking people reside in Chhattisgarh. Social and family relations were continuing between the residents of both the States, he added. The delegation led by the Odisha Assembly Minority language sub-committee chairman Amar Prasad Satpathi comprises member of the sub-committee Santosh Singh Saluja, SK Mishra and Ashish Khuntiya, Dr GP Mohanti of Utkal Sammilini, Dr AP Kar and U Mohanti.

Chhattisgarh State Farmers Welfare Council vice-president Purandar Mishra, school education secretary Dinesh Shrivastava, State Secondary Education Campaign director Reena Kangale and other senior officers of the department were present at the meeting. Chairman of the sub-committee Satpathi, members, Chhattisgarh State Farmers Welfare Council vice-president Purandar Mishra also gave suggestions for Odia language study in Chhattisgarh.