Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has once more hurt the sentiments of Odia community by failing to include the benefits of greeting someone ‘Namaste’ in their mother tongue. The message on the Twitter account of the ministry has been posted in various languages, but not in Odia.
With both the central and state governments declaring coronavirus a ‘disaster’, steps have been taken to check the virus. Among other things people have been asked to stop greeting each other with handshakes and opt for ‘namaskar’ instead.
The ministry’s Twitter page has a message where there is the sign of folded hands and the word ‘Namaste’in all the languages, save Odia.
A few days back, AIIMS here had courted controversy for its notification making it mandatory for its employees to use Hindi while signing important documents or for all official purposes. After Odia daily ‘Dharitri’ published the news, the decision by the AIIMS authorities drew widespread criticism. It was then forced to change the decision and AIIMS then clarified its earlier order. It said that the notification was for its staff who have pursued their education in Hindi medium.
PNN
