The Lucknow division of Northern Railways saw the names of eight railway stations being officially renamed after saints and freedom fighters on August 27, as per the officials.
The Northern Railways has said that under the new changes, Kasimpur Halt Railway Station has been renamed as Jais City Railway Station, Jais as Guru Gorakhnath Dham, Misrauli as Maa Kalikan Dham, and Bani as Swami Paramhans, while Nihalgarh Railway Station will now be called Maharaja Bijli Pasi Railway Station.
Besides these, Akbarganj has been renamed to Maa Ahorwa Bhawani Dham, Warisganj to Amar Shahid Bhale Sultan, and Fursatganj to Tapeshwarnath Dham.
Earlier, BJP leader Smriti Irani had demanded a name change for these stations to preserve cultural identity and heritage of the place.
Akhilesh Yadav protests
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the BJP government’s decision to rename railway stations, arguing that their focus should be on improving station conditions and preventing train accidents rather than changing names.
“The BJP government is requested to also change the condition of railway stations along with the names,” he said, adding, “And when you are done with changing the names, think about preventing record-breaking rail accidents,”
Mumbai local train network
A report published in July had said that a resolution had been passed by the Maharashtra council for the renaming of seven local train stations in the Mumbai local train network.
According to a PTI report, the majority of station names are in English, sparking debate over their colonial legacy.
According to the resolution, Currey Road station will be renamed Lalbaug, and Sandhurst Road will become Dongri. Additionally, Marine Lines will be renamed Mumbadevi, and Charni Road will be called Girgaon. The renaming of Sandhurst Road will apply to both the Central and Harbour Lines.
(With PTI inputs)