Patiala/Chandigarh, May 20:
The Higher Languages and Languages Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer visited the Patiala based headoffice of the Language Department and took stock of the efforts being made for the propagation of Punjabi language apart from the activities and projects of the department.
The minister was apprised of the various schemes of the department and ordered the departmental officers for exploring more options to make further improvements besides carrying activities consistently for popularization of the Punjabi language. He assured that the pending awards would also be given very soon by the Government.
The Minister further said that the Language Department has an enormous treasure trove of literature and the target should be to make it reach the maximum number of connoisseurs so as to connect new generation in large numbers with their cultural roots. He said that the onus of creating a harmonious society by running literary activities on a large scale is with the Language Department.
The minister exhibited keen interest in the ancient handwritten literature preserved during a visit to the library of the Linguistics Department and lauded the department for preserving it digitally.
Earlier, the Joint Director of the Language Department Dr. Veerpal Kaur welcomed the minister who was honoured with books, phulkari and a sapling.
Among others present included Assistant Director Ashraf Mehmood Nandan, Parveen Kumar, Sukhpreet Kaur, Amarinder Singh, Surinder Kaur, Dr. Bhiminder Singh, District Language Officer Chandandeep Kaur, Research Officer Rabia, Davinder Kaur, Dr. Sukhdarshan Singh Chahal, Dr. Santokh Sukhi, Dr. Satpal Singh and other employees.
