Bhubaneswar,Jan.02: The General Administration department of Odisha government on Wednesday expressed regret for the misprints in official diary of the state government.
In a notification issued today, the GA department regretted the “printing mistakes” in the New Year diary that attributed Utkalamani Gopababdhu’s poem to Kabibara Radhanath Ray.
The mistake was unintentional and without any malice. There was no intention to insult the eminent personalities of the state, Additional Secretary Abanikanta Patnaik has clarified.
It is pertinent to mention here that the iconic poem, ‘Manaba Jibana Nuhain Kevala Barsa Masa Dina Danda,’ was penned by Utkal Gaurav Gopabandhu Das. However, the official diary published and launched by the Odisha government on New Year mentioned the poem’s author as Radhanath Ray.
The error in the government’s official diary sparked widespread resentment among several political parties and organisations spearheading the Odia Bhasa (language) movement in Odisha.
The BJP yesterday had staged a demonstration terming it as an insult to eminent personalities. The saffron party activists demanded the immediate withdrawal of the diary and reprinting after necessary corrections.
Prasanta Patnaik