NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has approved the renaming of various metro stations, hospitals and other public places in the Capital to honour the city’s identity and public sentiments.
A meeting of the State Names Authority (SNA), chaired by Chief Minister and SNA Chairperson Rekha Gupta, was recently held at the Delhi Secretariat, where all proposals in this regard were approved unanimously.
Senior officials, including the Chief Secretary of Delhi, the Secretary of the Urban Development Department, the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Director of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), were also present.
Among the proposals approved in the meet was a proposal for naming the under-construction sports complex located in Begampur—Rohini’s Sector-33— after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A proposal to install a statue of the former Prime Minister at the complex also got the nod.
The meeting also cleared the proposal to rename the Rohini West Metro Station as the Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital Metro Station. Further, in order to make the station’s identity clearer and improve convenience for commuters, an approval was granted to rename the Rohini East Metro Station as the Rohini Metro Station.
Further, the under-construction hospital in Jwalapuri will be named the Baba Ramdevji Maharaj Hospital. The meeting also considered a proposal to incorporate the area’s local identity into the name of Dwarka Metro Station.
Approving the proposal, the Authority decided to rename the station as Dwarka-Kakrola Metro Station. The objective of this decision is to establish the geographical and social identity of the area more clearly. The meeting also unanimously approved the proposal to rechristen the Britannia Chowk in Shakurpur as the Ashwini Chopra (Minna) Chowk.
Dwelling on the significance of the move, CM Gupta said, “Honouring personalities who have made significant contributions to society and public life is among the government’s priorities. Such decisions help strengthen collective public memory. Delhi represents the nation’s cultural, social and historical consciousness.”