The Hindu : Front Page : A brand new guessing game for the Capital

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Thursday, Aug 24, 2006

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A brand new guessing game for the Capital

Sandeep Joshi

Scores of roads, parks, schools, stadiums, community halls and intersections being renamed by MCD

NEW DELHI : In a move that is likely to leave the Capital's residents and visitors baffled, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday cleared a proposal to name and rename at least 85 roads, 50 parks, 15 intersections, three schools, two community halls and several stadiums .Many of the roads and parks have been named after little known social workers, political leaders, former municipal councillors and freedom fighters while some others have been named after well-known personalities like Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Rajesh Pilot and Maharaja Agrasen.

The Pusa Road stretch between Siddharth Hotel and Panchkuian Road has been named after former Member of Parliament Dharam Dass Shastri, while Bungalow Road in Kamla Nagar will now be called Dr. Mahendra Nath Passi Marg, a former MCD doctor and social worker.

Similarly, the main crossing near Siddharth Hotel at Patel Nagar has been christened after Delhi's first Chief Minister, Chaudhary Brahm Perkash.

The Rawta More crossing at Najafgarh has been named after Vikram Singh Yadav, an Army major who lost his life in harness, while a crossing at Kondli has been named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A municipal playground in the Gorakh Park area would now be known as Lal Bahadur Shastri Park while parks at Budh Nagar and Mayur Vihar Phase II have been named after Rajiv Gandhi. Road No.66 between Yamuna Vihar Road and Loni Road will now be called Rajiv Gandhi Road.

Similarly, the road between Mayur Vihar Phase II and Patparganj bridge will be called Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Marg and a park at Khichripur village has been named after the late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot.

Bollywood stars in list too

Some famous Bollywood stars figure in the list too. The crossing of Asaf Ali Road and Ranjit Singh Marg has been named after Nargis Dutt, while a triangular park outside Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be known as Raj Kapoor Park.

Interestingly, two separate roads at Rohtas Nagar, represented by Delhi Congress chief Ram Babu Sharma, have been named after social worker Lala Om Prakash Garg.

At least two parks and roads each have been named after Maharaja Agrasen, while MCD has named a newly built stadium at Jharoda Kalan and a road between Najafgarh and Jharoda Kalan after Baba Haridas.

Some other names of roads that people will have to memorise include Gyan Chand Sharma Marg, Acharya Vijay Ballabh Suri Marg, Maharaja Ajminder Marg, Doctor Varshney Marg, Master Bhagwat Kishore Marg, Khalifa Dal Chand Marg, Dr. Balbir Chaudhary Marg, Sri Ram Kakkar Marg, Lala Ganesh Dass Khatri Marg, Chaudhary Hargyan Singh Marg, Prof. Joginder Singh Marg, Laxmi Narain Gupta Road, Kanshi Ram Nagpal Marg and Prakash Goswami Marg.

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