To expedite use of Odia language by institutions, commercial establishments and shops in Bhubaneswar, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan at the BMC office here on Saturday.
Most of the participants declared that they would change their signage into Odia by October 15. “We have achieved the Smart City tag through a competition; now, by using our own language, we can be the ‘smartest city,” said Balkrishnan.
He cited examples of advanced nations like Japan, Korea and China, which have given more importance to their local languages than the foreign languages and have done wonders in technology and innovation. Labour Secretary Anu Garg said, “Now, the use of Odia language on signage will be on voluntary basis but, after a certain deadline, enforcement might be imposed on violators to adhere to a uniform code of conduct. A website would also be in place through which citizens can post their photos citing violators.’’
Higher Education Secretary Bishnupada Sethi, Sports and Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev and BMC Commissioner Dr Krishan Kumar were present. It was decided that the BMC would coordinate the activity among commercial establishments and shops to use Odia in their signboards as per the provisions under the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Representatives of commercial establishments and educational institutions like KIIT University, Centurion University, SOA University, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha were present. Odia Bhasa Pratisthan Director Tamasarani Dasmohapatra proposed creation of a dictionary of administrative words in Odia.
The next meeting would be held after October 15 to review the progress of use of Odia in signage across the city.