Uttar Pradesh: Northern Railways Renames Four Stations After Temples, Two After Local Rulers In Lucknow Division

Northern Railways announced on Tuesday (27 August) changing names of eight railway stations falling under Lucknow Division in Uttar Pradesh.

The competent authority has approved renaming Kasimpur Halt to Jais City, Jais as Guru Gorakhnath Dham and Mishrauli has been renamed to Maa Kalikan Dham.

Similarly, Bani will be known as Swami Paramhans station, Nihalgarh as Maharaja Bijli Pasi, Akbarganj as Maa Ahorwa Bhawani Dham and Warisganj Halt as Amar Shahid Bhale Sultan.

Fursatganj, another railway station in Amethi district will be known as Tapeshwarnath Dham, a famous temple in the area.

Most of these places are in Amethi and Rae Bareli districts, where the Congress won in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The name changes align with the Yogi Adityanath government's initiatives of getting rid of Islamic and colonial names and having names with Hindu elements.

Four of the eight new names are after temples, two are after local rulers and one is after a saint. However, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the decision.

"There is a request to the BJP government to change not just the names but also the conditions of the railway stations," he said attacking the Modi government for 'record-breaking railway accidents.'