The British-era names of eight local railway stations in Mumbai are likely to be changed soon. Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale on Tuesday claimed that the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has given in-principle approval to his proposal to change the names of these stations in the financial capital.
The proposal will now be sent to the Union government after it receives the state cabinet's nod, said the MP from Mumbai South-Central constituency in a release.
List Of Mumbai Stations To Be Renamed
Shewale demanded the following stations be renamed:
Curry Road to Lalbaug
Sandhurst Road to Dongari
Cotton Green to Kalachowki
Dockyard Road to Mazgaon
Kings Circle to Tirthkar Parshwanath
Marine Lines to Mumbadevi
Charni Road to Girgaon
Mumbai Central to Nana Jagannath Shankarsheth
The state government has already sent a proposal to rename Mumbai Central station as Nana Jagannath Shankarsheth station to the Union government.
The Union government is trying to erase the markers of colonial rule and there was a public demand to change the British names of railway stations, the MP said in the release.
मुंबईच्या रेल्वे स्थानकांना मिळणार नवी ओळख
March 12, 2024
भारतीय पारतंत्र्याच्या खुणा पुसून टाकण्यासाठी केंद्र सरकार पुढाकार घेत असताना मुंबईतील रेल्वे स्थानकांची ब्रिटिशकालीन नावे देखील बदलायला हवी, अशी मुंबईकरांची भावना होती. म्हणून यासंदर्भात माननीय मुख्यमंत्री श्री एकनाथजी शिंदे यांच्याकडे… pic.twitter.com/CIMMOax62hAccording to news agency PTI, city chronicler Bharat Gothoskar said not all names had colonial connections, and one name is in fact derived from a Marathi word for `grazing land'.
Bharat Gothoskar, founder of the Khaki Heritage Foundation, said the names of railway stations, roads or intersections should not be changed as they have history attached to them.
Some of the station names, like Charni Road and Marine Lines, do not have any colonial connection, he pointed out.
"Charni Road is named for a grazing ground for cattle (`charani' in Marathi). So the name change does not make sense. Marine Lines is named after the barracks near Dhobi Talao. Both do not have any colonial connotation. On the other hand, stations named after British governors, Grand Road and Reay Road, have been spared," PTI quoted Gothoskar as saying.
In 2017, the Union government renamed the Elphinstone Road local station in the city, which took its name from Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860, as Prabhadevi station after the nearby Prabhadevi temple.
A few days before that, the name of the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in south Mumbai was modified with the addition of honorific `Maharaj'. Now it is known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). It was once known as Victoria Terminus, after Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
(With PTI inputs)
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