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Cool response to directive on signboards

— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

LANGUAGE MATTERS: A billboard put up in Berhampur with the list of defaulters in English.

BERHAMPUR: The State government’s directive to give priority to Oriya language on signboards of establishments in Orissa is yet to be taken seriously even after eight years.

On November 11, 2000, the Labour and Employment Department issued an order directing all establishments in the State to display their names and addresses in Oriya prominently on their signboards. The directive of the government said: “In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 38 of the Orissa Shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1956, the State government do hereby direct that every employer shall display the name and address of the shop or the commercial establishment, as the case may be, prominently by way of signboard or other means in front of such shop or business establishment written in Oriya language and maintain all registers and records as required and display the notices in Oriya language under the provisions of the rules.”

This also happens to be a directive of the State government through a mention in the Orissa gazette in 2001. But, till date most of the signboards in the State, including the ones of the government, do not give priority to the Oriya language.

Some of them do not even have anything written in Oriya on them.

Utkal Sammilani, an organisation that played a catalytic role in the formation of modern Orissa state on linguistic basis, has several times in the past approached the administration and the Labour Department for strict implementation of the order.

According to members of organisations like Utkal Parishad and Utkal Sammilani, in other States their mother tongue is given prominence on the signboards even if it happens to be multilingual. Similar efforts can be made in Orissa also.

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