In Pictures: The Land Of Shiva Goes Regal, Modernised Manduadih May Soon Be Renamed Banaras Railway Station

The Railway Ministry under Piyush Goyal is considering renaming the Manduadih railway station as 'Banaras' railway station at the holy city of Varanasi, reports Daily Pioneer.

Manduadih is among the four railway stations in Varanasi. “The Ministry is considering a proposal to change the name of Manduadih. We have already stations in the names Varanasi and Kashi. Only the name of Banaras is left out,” Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha, was quoted as saying in the report.

Manduadih, situated about four kilometres from Varanasi Cantonment Station, is also famous for the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), where engine parts of trains are manufactured.

Varanasi, also called Banaras and Kashi, was chosen in 2014 by Narendra Modi to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

The name Banaras means ‘bana rahe ras’. This word reflects the real culture of the city. The people in Banaras enjoy everything. Be it ‘geet-sangeet, puja-path and also misthanna-paan’.

“The name Manduadih doesn’t sound good and doesn’t connect with the legacy of Banaras,” a top railway official of Varanasi division was quoted as saying.

Another important station, Mughalsarai Junction, got a name change as Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction in October 2017 after the BJP assumed office in Uttar Pradesh.

A plan to change the name of a railway station goes through a long process. The Home Ministry must clear it after a state sends a renaming proposal to the Ministry of Railways.