Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) has started making COVID-19 announcements in Sanskrit.
So far, the airport was making announcements in two languages -- Hindi and English. However, it added Sanskrit as the third language for the purpose from Friday.
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The initiative has been started by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) together with Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
"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 in a tweet.
According to airport director Aryama Sanyal, Varanasi has been a centre of Sanskrit since ancient times and the initiative has been started to give respect to the language.
The Varanasi airport is located in Babatpur, 26 km from the city. It was renamed Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in October 2005. The airport is the second-busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh.
Here's how netizens reacted to it.
"It is pleasant that the announcement is being made in #Sanskrit at #Varanasi airport. This is a good effort to make Sanskrit the common language. This should happen at Varanasi railway station also," said a Twitter user.
Another 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.
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