The Utkal Sammilani has urged the Chhattisgarh Government to announce Odia as the second Raj Bhasha (State language) in view of presence of more than 1 crore Odia-speaking people in that State. It too requested the Government to recruit Odia teachers in schools as per the Right to Education Act and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme of the Centre.
Sammilani president Ananta Prasad Jena, general Secretary Prof Adwaita Kumara Patra and treasurer Usharani Mohanty placed these proposals at a felicitation programme held for them and the members of the Assembly Minorities language Subcommittee members by various Odia organisations and Jagannath Temple management committees at a place in Durg district.
The Assembly subcommittee led by Amar Prasad Satpathy and comprising Padmanav Behera, Dr Rasheshwari Panigrahi, Jacob Pradhan, Debesh Acharya, Sushant Singh along with Sammilani members had visited Odia schools at various places in Durg and Mahasamunda districts in order to examine Odia teaching by Odisha Government-appointed teachers in those schools. They were on a three-day visit to the Chhattisgarh from September 7 to 9.
On September 9, the MlAs and the Sammilani members discussed the above issues with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, Speaker Gourishankar Agrawal and Tribal and School Education Minister Kedar Kashyap. The Chief Minister assured them that he would favourably consider the proposals.
Notably, the Utkal Sammilani has, on behalf of the Odisha Government, posted 190 teachers in 190 schools in Raygada, Mahasamunda, Bilaspur and Jhanjichanda districts for teaching Odia.