Orissa Cabinet approves change of state name

Bhubaneswar, Jun 9 (UNI) The Orissa Cabinet today decided to change the name of the state from Orissa to Odisha and bring a resolution in this regard in the next session of the Assembly to recommend to Parliament to make necessary constitutional amendment.

Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said the name of the state was being written as ''Orissa'' for all official purposes as mentioned in the schedule I of the Constitution.

The state government had in the past drawn the attention of the Centre to change the name of the state stating that it should be pronounced as ''Odisha''and not Orissa.

Similarly the language of the state would also be changed from ''Oriya'' to ''Odiya'' and in Hindi language it should be read as ''Odiya'' and not ''Udia'' as mentioned in the Constitution.

The Chief Secretary said a Bill in this regard would be moved in the next session of the Assembly and a resolution recommending the change in the name and spelling would be forwarded to the Centre to be implemented forthwith.

The Cabinet, Mr Tripathy said, decided to enhance the retirement age of the doctors serving at the ESI hospitals under the Labour department from the existing 58 years to 60 years, which had already been implemented for the doctors working under the Health department.

The Chief Secretary said a decision was also taken to provide 27.46 acre of land at Tentla in Baragarh and Curkula in Bhatli block for the Indian Institute of Handloom and Technology and 45 acre of land to Utkal University of Culture near Madanpur Mouza on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar.

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