Ghaziabad to be renamed as 'Doodheshwernath Nagar'? civic body passes proposal

The municipal corporation on Tuesday passed a proposal for renaming Ghaziabad, officials said.

Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) mayor Sunita Dayal said the three names -- Harnandi Nagar, Gaj Prastha and Doodheshwernath Nagar -- will sent to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who will take a final call.

However, any such change of name will ultimately require the Centre's nod.

"A proposal for changing the name of Ghaziabad was passed by an absolute majority of the councillors. The new name will be decided by the CM," Dayal said.

The names have been suggested keeping in mind the demands of the people of Ghaziabad and Hindu outfits, the mayor said.

BJP MLA from Sahibabad constituency Sunil Sharma said last year he had tabled a proposal in this regard in the state Assembly, suggesting that Ghaziabad be renamed as Gaj Prastha.

Meanwhile, head priest of Doodheshwer Nath temple Mahant Narayan Giri told PTI that he had suggested the three names to the chief minister last year.

These names are related to the Mahabharata as present-day Ghaziabad was a part of Hastinapur, according to Giri.

This area used to be a dense forest inhabited by elephants, which are called 'Gaj' in Hindi. Therefore, Ghaziabad was called Gaj Prastha, Giri claimed.

A close aide of Mughal emperor Akbar, Ghaziuddin, had changed the name to Ghaziabad, he claimed.