PARSA, FEBRUARY 21
Chief Minister of Province 2 Lalbabu Raut today laid the foundation stone for Bhojpuri Foundation at a function organised at Gahawa of Birgunj on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.
The foundation is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 40 million.
On the occasion, Chief Minister Raut said Bhojpuri language could not develop as expected as it was not in the priority of the government.
He clarified that different languages, including Bhojpuri, had not developed due to negligence on the part of the state.
Bhojpuri language is spoken by more than 350 million people in Nepal and bordering Indian cities.
The chief minister expressed commitment to form a province-level Bhojpuri Foundation in the near future for development of Bhojpuri language and culture by allocating enough budget for the same.
Similarly, Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Jitendra Sonal said an environment for the development of all languages was being created after the establishment of federal democratic republic.
He opined that the constitution had given rights to provinces and local levels to use their own language for official purpose.
Minister Sonal also committed to providing financial support for construction of a building of Bhojpuri Foundation that is to be built in Birgunj, saying the province government would not leave any stone unturned for the development of Bhojpuri language and culture.
Likewise, leader of Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal Laxman Lal Karna, lawmaker Pradeep Yadav and mayor of Birgunj Metropolitan City, among others, said that Bhojpuri language would not be developed until its use officially started at government offices, and it was incorporated in the school curriculum.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 22, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
