Students put their footprints from Sambalpur to Orissa Capital in cause of Mother Tongue Oriya

Oriya Bhasa Sangram Samiti, under the leadership of Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty, welcomed the students who had come walking on foot from Sambalpur to Bhubaneswar to ask the Government to ensure paramountcy of mother tongue Oriya in management of Orissa by appointing teachers in the subject of Oriya in all educational institutes within the limits of the State as the minimum duty of the Government to the people. Bhasa Sangram Samiti leader Poet and Advocate Gajanan Mishra had flagged off the foot marchers at Sambalpur on October 17.

Students from Sambalpur were joined with students from the Central University, Ravenshaw University, Utkal University and Sahantiniketan in the foot march under the auspices of Nikhila Utkal Oriya Honors Students Association.

They were welcomed and addressed by Dr. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Debendra Prasad Das, Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Ajay Kumar Jena and Hemanta Kumar Rath and others.

Below are a few relevant pictures on the welcome given to them on October 31 at the same spot on Mahatma Gandhi Marg where poet Gajanan Mishra had observed his fast on to death along with other hunger-strikers for implementation of Orissa Official Language Act, 1954. The fast was withdrawn on July 08,2015 on agreement of the Government with the Bhasa Sangram Samiti for implementation of the Act, following which a Joint Action Committee with Five Ministers representing the Government and seven language activists representing the Samiti has been formed and steps as regularly being reported in this site are being taken.