Odisha Khati Corner

New look

Something truly rare happened during President Droupadi Murmu’s visit to Jahira in Similipal. The security team, usually dressed in formal attire, showed up in traditional tribal dress. In Jahira, one must follow the tradition. Men wear ‘kacha’, women wear ‘jhela’. So, in a moment of cultural respect, the President’s security personnel swapped their uniforms for the local look, proving that Jahira sets its own dress code.




BMC user fee

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has launched a “pay your sanitation user fee” awareness drive with a simple message — “if everyone else can do it, so can you”. It took to social media to show corporators paying the fee. “Look, even people with fancy chairs are paying. What’s your excuse?” it asked in one of the posts. Another BMC post showed a shopkeeper paying the user fee. “See, our shopkeeper friend paid too. If he can manage it between customers, you can too between scrolling,” it stated. But as always, the BMC was at the receiving end, with many asking it to remove encroachments first.



Spell it right

The govt has decided to rename the English spellings of 24 places, setting the tone for a full-scale debate. Khurda may soon read as Khoradha and Angul as Anugol, if the proposal is finalised. From tea stalls to instant messaging sites, everyone is now pitching with their names, with popular demands to rename Cuttack as Katak and Berhampur as Brahmapur. The argument is simple — “We’ve been pronouncing it this way for long, so what’s the harm in making it official?”

(Contributed by Team TOI)