Orissa to be spelled as Odisha, Oriya to be Odia

Bhubaneswar: There is joy and jubilation in Odisha (Orissa), as the Union Cabinet approved the change in spelling of the state both in English and Hindi. 'Orissa' will now be spelled as 'Odisha' and people of the state will known as 'Odia', not Oriya. The language will also be known as 'Odia'. The cabinet approved the change nomenclature, which will get Parliament's nod soon.

The Odisha Assembly had passed a resolution in August 2009 to change the state's name to Odisha and its official language from Oriya to Odia, as wrong spelling were used in Hindi and English for long.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and many prominent leaders and intellectuals of the state have welcomed the decision, saying it was long due. Major cities, which were renamed in the recent years are Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Bengaluru (Bangalore), Kozhikode (Calicut), (Pune (Poona) and Kochi (Cochin).