A draft delimitation order issued by the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation has changed “Muslim-sounding names” of around a dozen wards, triggering criticism from the opposition, who have called it an “attempt at polarisation”.
As part of the delimitation exercise, the number of wards in Gorakhpur went up to 80. According to officials, complaints to the disposal can be made within a week, following which they will be considered and decided.
Shahab Ansari, the leader of the Samajwadi Party and a councillor for Ismailpur, alleged that the renaming was an effort to create polarisation.
In this regard, the party will meet on Sunday, according to Ansari, and a delegation will meet with the district magistrate on Monday to voice its concern.
Talat Aziz, a Congress leader, referred to the exercise as financial waste. The leader questioned, “I fail to see what the administration will accomplish with this exercise.
The following is a list of the wards with new names:Old Name New Name Humanyunpur (North) Hanumant Nagar Turkmanpur Shaheed Ashfaqullah Nagar Rasoolpur Maharana Pratap Nagar Daudpur Raghupati Sahay Firaak Nagar Jafra Bazaar Atma Ram Nagar Ismailpur Sahabgang Miya Bazaar Maya Bazaar Qazipur Khurd Jagannathpur Alinagar Aarya Nagar Chaksa Hussain Sant Jhoole Lal Nagar Mutipur Ghanta Ghar Bheriyagar Vishnupuram Mohaddipur Sardar Bhagat Singh Nagar Hansupur Sri Ram Chowk Rustampur Chandra Shekhar Azad Chowk Elahibahg Bandhu Singh Nagar
The new names, according to Mayor Sitaram Jaiswal, evoke a sense of pride.
