The Maharashtra government on Friday issued a notification renaming Ahmednagar railway station as Ahilyanagar railway station following approval from the Union Home ministry, reported the PTI.
The state government earlier renamed Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar district in Maharashtra.
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 Ajit Pawar`s office said, according to the PTI.
Last month, Ajit Pawar had written to Vaishnaw urging that the railway station to be renamed to match the city`s new name.
“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,” Ajit Pawar said, according to the PTI.
Several organisations and citizens had been demanding that the railway station`s name be changed after the city was renamed Ahilyanagar.
The Maharashtra deputy CM also said that efforts were underway to rename Aurangabad railway station as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station.
Last year, Devendra Fadnavis had said that the process to rename Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar will be completed in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a public rally in 2024 in western Maharashtra in presence of PM Modi, the BJP leader had said the state government has already taken a decision to rename Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar in honour of a legendary 18th century Maratha queen.
“The decision will be implemented in PM Modi`s third term,” he had told the gathering.
Maharani Ahilyadevi Holkar, the 18th century queen of the Maratha Malwa kingdom in central India, was born in a village in the district in western Maharashtra.
Earlier, Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts in central Maharashtra were officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, respectively.
In May this year, the Central Railway had officially renamed the Usmanabad (Osmanabad) railway station in central Maharashtra as `Dharashiv`.
The station previously known as Usmanabad, with the station code UMD, was officially renamed Dharashiv, with the new station code is now DRSV, the Central Railway had earlier said in a press release.
(with PTI inputs)
