BHUBANESWAR: The State-owned "Odia Bhasa Pratisthan" (Institute of Oriya) will soon set up its branches in all the 30 districts of the State. It will also undertake nine new projects for conservation and promotion of Oriya language.

The institute's executive council comprising School and Mass Education Minister B.C. Das, State Chief Secretary A.K.Tripathy, Development Commissioner R.N. Bohidar, former Central Sahitya Akademi president and eminent writer Ramakant Rath, Orissa Sahitya Akademi president Ganeswar Mishra and Ravenshaw Deemed University Vice-Chancellor Debdas Chhortay met at the Secretariat and resolved to expand the institute's activities to the district level. Accordingly, the district units will be set up with the district collectors as chairpersons, it was learnt.

Rare books

The district units will identify the rare books those are out of print at present and will undertake efforts for reprint. Modelled after the district councils of culture, the institute's district level units will act as a confluence of writers, scholars, academicians, linguists and administrators who will decide the activities, sources in the Bhasa Pratisthan informed.

The meeting further resolved to have its permanent campus in the capital and appoint a director at the earliest.

The Council expressed its concern over non-availability of Oriya medium books at secondary school level in the Oriya population dominated regions in neighbouring states of Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The books prescribed for secondary school level will be translated into Oriya and will be provided to the Oriya students from the next academic session, the Council decided.

Similarly the institute will undertake initiatives to improve the quality of teaching of Oriya language and literature in the English medium schools of the State, it resolved.

The institute will also draw the attention of the Centre to include Oriya along with English and Hindi in signboards on display by the Central Government organisations in the State, the sources revealed. It will also prevail upon the Government to have liberal policies for release of advertisement to Oriya literary magazines, it added.

Of the nine special projects that the Council discussed and approved, the thrust has been on development of textbooks in tribal dialects in view of the large chunk of tribal population inhabiting the state.

The other projects include Oriya language training for non-Oriya people, development of books and literature for learning of Oriya by the non-Oriyas, special training in Oriya grammar studies, an Oriya dictionary for administrative use and availability of study materials of science and technology in Oriya language.

The projects will cost the state exchequer Rs.51.78 lakhs, it was learnt.

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