New Delhi: The Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi has introduced Sanskrit language for making COVID-19 announcements in the airport premises.
The Airpports Authority of India (AAI) together with Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has launched the new initiative, ND TV reported.
Up till now, Hindi and English were the two languages used for these announcements at the airport. But from Friday, Sanskrit was added as the third language for the purpose.
“Now at Varanasi Airport, after English and Hindi, Covid norms are being announced in Sanskrit too. As soon as the passengers enter the airport, they will feel they have entered the hub of Sanskrit language,” Varanasi Airport said in a tweet in Hindi.
Airport director Aryama Sanyal said, Varanasi has been a centre of Sanskrit since ancient times and the initiative has been started to give respect to the language.
The clip of the broadcast has created a lot of buzz online.
One user questioned why didn’t the authorities choose the local Bhojpuri language? “Announcements are made for commuters. How many people can understand Sanskrit? Why not do it in Bhojpuri? The original native language of Varanasi,” said his tweet.
The Varanasi airport, located in Babatpur, 26 km from the city, is the second-busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh.