Bhubaneswar: Social media users have raised concerns over the absence of Odia script for major towns in Odisha on Google Maps, noting that cities in several other states display names in both English and the respective regional language.
The user in his post on the Odisha subreddit pointed out that cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai appear in English and Hindi, Hyderabad in English and Telugu, Kochi in English and Malayalam, Bengaluru in English and Kannada, Ahmedabad in Gujarati and English, Kolkata in Bengali and English, and Chennai in English and Tamil. However, in the case of Bhubaneswar, and other Odisha towns the name is shown only in English.
In the post circulating online, the user questioned why Odia transcripts are not available and sought suggestions on how to address the issue.
A user commented that he had earlier raised the matter with Google Maps on Twitter but received only a standard response stating that the concerned team would look into it, with no further update.
“I feel that if we start a discussion thread and also raise this issue on Twitter and other forums by tagging the government and relevant authorities, it may finally get the attention it deserves,” the user wrote, invoking the spirit of “Odia asmita.”
Another user suggested making it trend on X and linking it with broader civic demands. “Can we make it a trend on X?” the comment read.
The issue has since drawn wider attention online, with users calling for coordinated feedback to seek inclusion of Odia script on Google Maps.
PNN