Bhubaneswar, Feb 5: The Revenue and Disaster Management Department of Odisha has issued a public notice inviting suggestions and supporting data within 15 days regarding the state government’s proposal to revise the English spellings of seven districts and places to align them with their original Odia names.

According to officials, the move is aimed at correcting long‑standing inconsistencies between Odia spellings and their English versions. The proposal covers seven districts and multiple other locations where names have historically been transliterated differently.

Names like Khordha (currently written as Khurda), Debagad (Deogarh), Kendrapada (Kendrapara), Mahakalpada (Mahakalpara), and Nayagad (Nayagarh) will be standardised to reflect Odia pronunciation.

Authorities noted that in many cases, the Odia letter “ଡ଼” has been inaccurately represented as “ra” in English spellings, leading to distortions such as Kendrapada being written as Kendrapara, Mahakalpada as Mahakalpara, and Nayagad as Nayagarh. These names will now be revised to match Odia usage.

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In total, 24 place names across 11 districts are expected to undergo spelling corrections. The department has clarified that objections or suggestions must be submitted with documentary evidence within the stipulated period. Officials believe the changes will help preserve linguistic authenticity and reduce confusion in administrative records.