Darjeeling, Nov. 26: Following a public outcry over the wrong usage of Nepali in a poster issued by the health department on pulse polio day, the chief medical officer of health has sought permission from the state government to print such posters in Darjeeling to avoid bloomers.

The poster that had numerous spelling and grammatical errors was printed in Calcutta, a fact the health department officials at Darjeeling have cited in their defence.

Regretting the error, T.N. Chattoraj, CMOH, Darjeeling, in a letter to All Gorkha Student Union president, has said that the flaws were detected during a meeting convened by the district magistrate on November 19 but the posters were plastered because 544 polio units had already received them.

The Hills, which have always been sensitive about the usage of Nepali by the state government, erupted in anger last Sunday, condemning the incident as another case of government apathy to the language.

?On behalf of the district health administration, deputy CMOH-III, Darjeeling, I express my regret and deep concern over the matter. I assure you that such matters will be handled with the utmost care in the near future?? the letter read.

The Agsu, however, maintained that the health authorities had given a similar writing in 2000 when an error was found on the pulse polio poster.

The students? union used the case to push forward its demand for Gorkhaland. ?They are not serious and the only solution to such a problem is to have our own state of Gorkhaland. Even though the health authorities have given us a written assurance, we expect the state government to apologise during the Bhanu Puraskhar ceremony to be held on November 29,? said Roshan Giri.

The union has even put up posters at Chowk Bazar, the contents of which state that such incidents could only be avoided once a separate state was created.