Three years after the renaming of Aurangabad city in Maharashtra, the South Central Railway announced on Saturday that the Aurangabad railway station has been officially renamed as “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station.”
“The Name of “Aurangabad” Railway Station Changed as “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” Railway Station,” the South Central Railway said in a post on X on Saturday.
Its new station code will be ‘CPSN’, the Central Railway said in a release. The station falls under the Nanded Division of South Central Railway.
A press release read, “The competent authority has approved the change in the name of “Aurangabad” Railway station of Nanded Division over South Central Railway as “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” Railway station with the Railway Code for Station as CPSN.”
“Accordingly, the “Aurangabad” Railway station shall henceforth be called “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” Railway station and station code will be CPSN,” it added.
Mahayuti issues notification
The BJP-led Mahayuti government had issued a gazette notification on October 15 to change the name of the Aurangabad railway station following approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who had pursued the matter, thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for approving the proposal.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde were also part of the efforts, a statement from Pawar’s office said. Last month, Pawar had written to Vaishnaw urging that the station be renamed to match the city’s new name.
The move came nearly three years after the then-government, headed by Eknath Shinde, formally renamed Aurangabad city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The Maharashtra government had earlier renamed the Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar district.
“This long-pending demand has now been fulfilled. The renaming holds special significance as we are celebrating the 300th birth anniversary year of Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar,” Pawar said.
Several organisations and citizens had been demanding that the railway station’s name be changed after the city was renamed Ahilyanagar.
Pawar also said efforts were underway to rename Aurangabad railway station as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station.
The city, previously named for Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, received the new name as a tribute to Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and second ruler of the Maratha state.
Aurangabad railway station was opened in 1900, during the reign of the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is a tourist hub, surrounded by many historical monuments including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
(With inputs from agencies)
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