Ghaziabad is a part of the National Capital Region and only a few kilometres from Delhi.

New Delhi:

Ghaziabad near Delhi is likely to soon join the list of places renamed in Uttar Pradesh amid demands by Hindu outfits. The options are: Gajnagar and Harnandi Nagar.

The proposal was tabled by a BJP councillor yesterday and the Ghaziabad civic body put it on its Tuesday’s board meeting agenda, reported The Times of India. With the BJP enjoying a comfortable majority in the civic body, there seems hardly any obstacle for the name change.

There have been requests for renaming the city for some time and but this will be the first time it will be discussed at the executive level, the report quoted mayor Sunita Dayal as saying.

Sanjay Singh, who tabled the proposal, said Ghaziabad – which is part of the National Capital Region – holds a significant place in history and should be accorded its rightful place.

Mahant Narayan Giri, the head priest of Dudheshwar Nath temple who has been leading the name-change efforts, said Ghaziabad was once part of Hastinapur, described as the capital of Kuru Kingdom in Hindu texts.

Uttar Pradesh has led the country in renaming places, the most significant being that of Allahabad, which is known as Prayagraj since 2018. A series of name changes followed

In 2020, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had even proposed changing Ghagra river’s name to Saryu, which finds mention in ancient Hindu scriptures and is believed to have flown through Ayodhya.

In 2021, Faizabad junction was renamed Ayodhya Cantonment by the Railways. Same year, the Jhansi railway station was renamed Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station.

Last month, the Union Home Ministry gave its consent to change the names of two places: Mundera Baazar in Gorakhpur district to Chauri-Chaura and Telia Afghan village in Deoria district to Telia Shukla.