A street in Kolkata, capital of the West Bengal state of India, is to be named after the pioneer Nepali poet, Bhanu Bhakta Acharya, a newspaper report said.

Statue of Pioneer Poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya decorated with garlands in memory of his 192nd Birthday at Bhanu Bhakta Memorial School, Kathmandu, Thursday, July 13 06. nepalnews.com/rh

According to Annapurna Post daily, Nepali Consulate General’s office in Kolkata had urged the state government of West Bengal to name the street where Consulate Office is located as the Bhanu Bhakta road. Since the road had already been named, the Mayor of Kolkata suggested that a different street be named after the Nepali poet.

“Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddha Dev Bhattacharya, and Mayor of Kolkata city Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya have agreed on the proposal,” Nepali Consular General in Kolkata, Dr Govinda Kusum, was quoted by the daily as saying.

Not only in Nepal, Nepali speaking population living in West Bengal, Sikkim and other north-eastern states of India have high regards towards the pioneer Nepali poet. A full sized statue of Acharya has been erected at Salikmode in Darjeeling district of India. Similarly, Bengalis also extend their respect to Bhanu Bhakta and Nepali literature. This year, Bhanu Jayanti was observed on Thursday.