Kolkata: Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani, Ho Chi Minh Sarani may get new names
Panel headed by Kartik Maharaj likely to hold first meeting after Durga Puja, when proposals for renaming roads in Kolkata are likely to be taken up
Kolkata, Sep 14 (PTI) A 10-member committee set up by the West Bengal government is mulling proposals to rename several roads, bridges and public places in the state, including three prominent Kolkata thoroughfares named after communist leaders Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx and Ho Chi Minh.
The panel, headed by Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram, is expected to hold its first meeting after Durga Puja, when proposals for renaming roads in Kolkata are likely to be taken up, a senior member of the advisory committee said on Monday.
The three roads under consideration are Lenin Sarani, Karl Marx Sarani and Ho Chi Minh Sarani.
"No decision has been taken yet, and the recommendations will be made after the Durga Puja in October," senior committee member Tathagata Roy told PTI.
Roy said he had suggested that Karl Marx Sarani in Kidderpore be renamed after Bengali poets Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, citing their association with the area.
He also proposed renaming Lenin Sarani, earlier known as Dharmatala Street, after mathematician and former Bharatiya Jana Sangh president Debaprasad Ghosh.
"All these are recommendatory to be submitted after the Pujas and for final decision by KMC," Roy said.
Asked if the Lenin statue at the Esplanade crossing would be removed, Roy said, "If there is a suggestion in this regard, I hope the board will think accordingly." For Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Roy proposed the name of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Roy also suggested that some places bearing the names of Muslim figures be renamed after personalities whom he described as "nationalist Muslims".
He proposed, among others, the names of writer Qazi Abdul Wadud, educationist Begum Rokeya and author S Wajed Ali as alternatives for the Titumir-named bus stand in Barasat.
"I have also suggested to the Railway authorities that the names of certain stations in Tollygunge-Garia stretch of the Blue Line, be changed after respective places instead of names of personalities to be of help to the commuting public and residents of the area," he said.
Roy also called for naming an important city road after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Besides former Meghalaya governor and BJP ideologue Roy, chief minister’s adviser Subrata Gupta and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner Smita Pandey, among others, are members of the committee.
Roy said the committee’s recommendations would subsequently be sent to the state Assembly. PTI