Bhubaneswar, Sep 23: In a strong move to enforce the use of Odia language in commercial signage, the Odisha government has taken legal action against 100 business establishments for violating the signage law.

Labour Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia revealed in the Odisha Assembly that 1,606 establishments across the state were found without Odia-language nameplates, prompting the issuance of show-cause notices to their owners.

Among these, Khordha district saw the highest number of cases, with 38 legal proceedings initiated. Jharsuguda and Khordha districts together accounted for 438 notices. In total, inspections were carried out at 2,852 establishments during the current financial year to ensure compliance with the Odia signage mandate.

The enforcement is part of a broader initiative to promote the use of Odia in public and commercial spaces, reinforcing cultural identity and linguistic pride.

In a separate update, the minister also reported significant progress in the rescue of child labourers. Over the past three years, 101 children have been rescued from exploitative working conditions. The breakdown includes 5 rescues in 2022–23, 45 in 2023–24, and 51 in 2024–25.

Legal action has been taken against employers in 116 cases related to child labour. However, the minister noted that the last official child labour census was conducted in 1997, which identified 2,15,222 child labourers in the state. No subsequent census has been undertaken since then.

The minister was responding to a question raised by BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya. The data highlights the government’s ongoing efforts to curb child labour and enforce language-based compliance in business operations.