The Odisha government has initiated the process to restore the original and more accurate English transliterations of several place names across the state, aligning them closely with their authentic Odia pronunciations and spellings. This move aims to correct long-standing misspellings and distortions introduced over time, preserving the state’s linguistic, historical, and cultural heritage.
According to an official public notice and related notifications from the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, the government proposes revisions to the English names of seven districts and the transliteration of 24 places spread across 11 districts. The changes primarily address miss-spellings or corruptions in current English renderings, replacing them with corrected versions based on the original Odia names (as listed in Annexure-A of the proposal).
Key proposed changes for districts include:
- Deogarh → Debagarh
- Khordha (also spelled Khurda) → Khoradha
- Kandhamal (often Khondmal or similar) → Kandhamal
- Balasore → Baleshwar
- Kendrapara → Kendrapada
- Keonjhar → Kendujhar
- Nayagarh → Nayagada
For other places and administrative units, notable corrections encompass:
- Podia (Malkangiri block) → Padia
- Reamal → Riamal
- Bolagarh → Bolagada
- Banpur → Banapur
- Jatni → Jatani
- Angul → Anugol
- Pallahara → Palalahada
- Athagarh → Athagad
- Salipur → Salepur
- Baramba → Badamba
- Nilgiri → Nilagiri
- Aul → Ali
- Makalapara → Mahakalapada
- Barbil → Badbil
- Keonjhargarh → Kendujhargarh
- Rairakhol → Redhakhol
- Daspalla → Dashapalla
And others such as Phulbani (associated with Kandhamal) aligning under the broader Kandhamal correction.
The initiative follows a similar spirit to past efforts, such as the 2011 renaming of the state from “Orissa” to “Odisha” and its language from “Oriya” to “Odia,” which sought phonetic accuracy and decolonization of spellings.
