Maharashtra: Shortly after the cabinet meeting, the Maha govt has approved the proposal to rename the city of Aurangabad to Sambhaji Nagar. Additionally, Osmanabad will now be referred to as Dharashiv as per reports. In the same meeting today, the Navi Mumbai airport was renamed DB Patil Int’l airport.
It is worth noting that the state planning agency CIDCO had earlier proposed to rename the Navi Mumbai airport after the late Balasaheb Thackeray, founder of Shiv Sena. The Congress which is the junior partner of the Shiv Sena demanded that the Pune city be renamed Jijau Nagar after Chatrapati Shivaji’s mother. Another demand they put forth was renaming the Mumbai Harbour link between Sewree and Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai after later former CM AR Antulay. However, these demands were not considered.
The name-changing decision came a day after the cabinet on Tuesday demanded to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinahgar. The first attempt to rename Aurangabad was made by the late Bal Thackeray in 1988 after he had won the local body elections. It was later in 1995, that the then CM had passed a resolution to rename the central city however, the decision was overruled by public opinions sought through notice.