Hot on the heels of the Odisha government's decision to officially rectify the English spelling of the names of 24 places in seven districts, a spate of demands for rectification of spelling anomalies in other prominent cities of the state are now gaining momentum. Even as the Revenue and Disaster Management Department's decision to issue the notification was widely welcomed, several others in the state now question what exactly prompted the government to leave off some of these prominent locations.
A point of major dispute is the city of Cuttack. "KATAKA" spell "CUTTACK, the people of the place is fighting to change the spelling of their place name into this "true phonetic version" instead of the prevailing anglicised form. Similarly, people of a different place, Berhampur, are pressurising the government to officially rename their place in accordance with the spelling which they feel is "the true spelling of their place": "BRAHMAPUR."
These demands come close at the heel of a recent government announcement to change some of the district and town names. This includes changing changing Keonjhar to "KENDUJHAR," Khurda to "KHORADHA," and Balasore to "BALESHWAR. “Other locations slated for a spelling overhaul include Debagarh, Nayagada, Kendrapara, Aul, Rairakhol, and Athagarh.
“The government is initiating a process of feedback from the people within a space of 15 days regarding the objections and suggestions people may have over these changes. Once we receive this feedback, we will issue a final notification giving effect to these new spellings.”
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