Odisha Bhasa Sangram Samiti ends 8-day-long Fast, as Govt Blinks

On the 8th day of their fast onto death, the Odisha Bhasa Sangram Samiti received a major boost, as the Odisha Government finally relented and agreed to ensure implementation of Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 in letter and spirit. However, no time-frame has been decided for its implementation.

The Odisha Bhasa Sangram Samiti ended the agitation, after the assurance following a meeting between a 10-member committee of OBSS and the Ministers Arun Sahoo (Law), Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak (I&PR), Sanjay Dasburma (Food & Consumer Affairs) and Pranab Prakash Das (Energy). Shankarshan Parida, Subrat Prusty, Hemant Rath, Subhas Chandra Pattanayak, Prof. Natabar Satpathy, Sudarshan Das, Debaprasad Parija and Umakant Rout were part of the Odisha Bhasha Sangram Samiti delegation.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik constituted a five-member inter-ministerial committee for implementation of Odisha Official Language Act, 1954. The committee will be headed by School and Mass Education Minister Devi Prasad Mishra. Other members of the committee are Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Law Minister Arun Sahoo and Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das.

Seven members of Bhasa Sangram Samiti will coordinate with these Ministers to ensure speedy implementation of the Act. After getting the assurance from the government, Gajanan Mishra and others ended their hunger strike. Law Minister Arun Sahoo broke the fast.