Sambalpur, Jan. 23: A regional news unit opened at All India Radio (AIR) station in Sambalpur today. This is the second such unit in the state after Cuttack.

Residents will now be able to listen to news bulletins in the Sambalpuri language. It has been a long-pending demand of the people here.

The inaugural event was organised at Radhanath Kalyan Mandap here and was attended by Pradeep Kumar Pujari, secretary of the department of power, Sitansu Kar, director-general, news, of Prasar Bharati, N.P. Joshi, director (administration), Prasar Bharati, and Abdur Rahman Seikh, ADG (technology), east zone.

A 10-minute news bulletin in Sambalpuri language will be aired at 8.15pm every day. "The All India Radio station of Bhawanipatna, Rourkela and Balangir will also air the news bulletin in Sambalpuri," said station director, P.K. Srichandan. The All India Radio station was established on May 26, 1963 in Sambalpur.

"The regional news unit was a long pending demand of the people of this region. From now on, they will be able to listen to international and national news in Sambalpuri language. It is really a historical day for the people of the region," said Roshni Bohidar, a resident of Sambalpur.

"The people of this region have been demanding inclusion of the Sambalpuri language in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. The state government has also sent a proposal to the Union government regarding the same. Officially there are around 75 lakh people of the state who speak Sambalpuri. However, the actual number will be more than one crore. This unit will help residents listen to news in their own preferred language," said Anshuman Dash, another resident of the city.