Telugu literary figures on Sunday demanded that the Telangana government take steps for the protection and promotion of the language, including reservation for people who have studied in the Telugu medium in appointments in state government services.

Various groups came together to organise a walk for Telugu to mark the Telugu Language Day. They demanded implementation of the existing legislations for promotion of Telugu language and

Telugu Kutami, Telugu Bhasha Chaitanya Samithi and Telangana Rachaitula Sangham and other groups organised the walk at Indira Park.

The organisers demanded that the recruitment exams be conducted in Telugu. Former chairman of Telangana Sahitya Academy Nandini Siddha Reddy demanded that Telugu be implemented as the official and administrative language.

“Legislations have been made in the past for this but they are not being implemented properly. We want their effective implementation,” he said.

The writer and poet also sought powers to the Official Language Commission. He lamented that the commission exists for namesake as it lacks powers.

He also demanded reservation for those who studied in Telugu medium in appointments for government jobs. He said Telangana should take the steps to provide reservation on the lines of Tamil Nadu.

He pointed out that Tamil Nadu has also provided reservation for students who studied in Tamil medium.

The participants also urged the people to use Telugu while speaking to promote the language. They raised slogans in support of their demands.

Telugu Language Day is celebrated every year on August 29 to coincide with the birthday of Telugu poet Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy. A Telugu writer, he was one of the first contemporary Telugu linguists and social visionaries.

One of the six classical languages, Telugu is spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state. It is the official language of both the Telugu states.