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Mumbai, October 18 (IANS) The Maharashtra government has issued a gazette notification to change the name of Aurangabad railway station to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar station.
The government’s move comes two years after changing the name of Aurangabad city to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The government’s move coincides with the ongoing preparations by the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi for the local and civic polls.
The BJP-led grand alliance government on October 15 issued a gazette notification to change the name of Aurangabad railway station to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar station. However, the process of changing the name was originally initiated by the Shiv Sena-led MH Vikas Aghadi government.
Aurangabad was originally named after Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and the renaming was done to honor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
Aurangabad railway station was opened in 1900. It was built by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad. The railway station is located on the Kacheguda-Manmad section. This section mainly serves Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city (formerly Aurangabad). The station falls under Nanded division of South Central Railway zone. It has rail connectivity with major cities of the country.
The city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is a tourist hub, surrounded by several historical monuments including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is also known as the City of Gates, each of which has local history, was built during the Mughal period, and has 2 ASI-protected monuments (Bibi Ka Maqbara and Aurangabad Caves), as well as several more monuments within the city limits.
The demand to change the name of Aurangabad arose in the late 1980s. More than 25 people were killed in a communal riot in 1988 and in subsequent elections, Shiv Sena won the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections.
On May 8, 1988, Bal Thackeray announced the renaming of the city to ‘Sambhaji Nagar’ and a resolution was passed by the Municipal Corporation in 1995. Following this, the then Shiv-Sena led government issued a notification seeking objections and suggestions from the people.
However, on September 16, 2023, the Eknath Shinde-led government issued a government notification to change the name of Aurangabad district to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, after the approval of the special state cabinet meeting.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had last month announced that Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar will become the electric vehicle (EV) capital of the country, as it is a preferred investment destination.
He further said that Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar can be called a favorite investment destination. Hyundai’s investment shows that companies are giving priority to cities like Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
–IANS
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