BHUBANESWAR: In a significant move to restore the authentic Odia names of several districts, subdivisions, tehsils, blocks and urban local bodies, The Odisha government has initiated a major exercise for correcting existing misspellings and distortions in their English transliterations.
In a public notice, the Revenue and Disaster Management department said the proposed changes aim to ensure that official records correctly reflect Odisha’s linguistic, historical and cultural heritage.
According to the notice, the proposed changes largely involve correcting English spellings that do not accurately represent the original Odia names of the districts and places.
The exercise will not completely rename the places.
Among the key suggestions, the Revenue department has proposed to correct Deogarh district’s English name to Debagarh, aligning it with the authentic Odia pronunciation.
Similarly, Khurda district is proposed to be corrected as Khoradha, while Angul would become Anugol and Kendrapara as Kendrapada. Balasore district is proposed to be spelled as Baleshwar and Keonjhar as Kendujhar.
Several subdivisions, tehsils and blocks are also included in the list.
Athagarh in Cuttack district has been proposed to be corrected as Athagad, Salipur as Salepur and Baramba as Badamba while Bolagarh in Khurda district as Bolagada, Banpur as Banapur and Jatni as Jatani.
In Kandhamal district, the spelling of Khondmal is proposed to be uniformly reflected as Kandhamal.
In Kendrapara district, Aul is proposed to be corrected as Ali, while Maklapara would be spelled as Mahakalapada.
In Keonjhar district, Barbil is proposed to be corrected to Badbil, while Keonjhargarh municipality would become Kendujhargarh. In Sambalpur district, Rairakhol is proposed to be corrected as Redhakhol.
The proposal also includes changes in Nayagarh district, where Nayagarh would be corrected as Nayagada and Daspalla as Dashapalla.
In Malkangiri district, Podia block is proposed to be corrected as Padia, while Reamal block in Debagarh district would be spelled as Riamal.
The government has invited objections or suggestions from stakeholders within 15 days from the date of publication, failing which the government may proceed further as per law.
All citizens and institutions have been urged to submit their views in writing, along with supporting documents if any, within the stipulated period, said a senior official of Revenue and Disaster Management department.
