In an overnight operation, New Delhi Municipal Council officials renamed Aurangzeb Road in the heart of the city to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road. Close to midnight, workers engaged by NDMC were seen removing Aurangzeb’s name from the signboards.
Earlier in the day, people driving down the road with the help of Google Maps, were left confused as the signboards still displayed the old name. Google Maps jumped the gun and decided to adopt the new name for the Central Delhi road, which was renamed by the New Delhi Municipal Council on August 28.
The Council decided to honour the late President by renaming the colonial-era road named after the Mughal emperor. The switch reflected quicker in the virtual world, as Google was quicker to make the change, compared with the NDMC, which will be changing the boards soon.
“The public notice on the renaming will be out on Friday morning and the boards on the entire stretch will be changed to reflect the new name by 6 a.m.,” said NDMC vice-chairperson Karan Singh Tanwar.
He said the decision of the NDMC, which voted unanimously in favour of the renaming, was “full and final.” However, a challenge to the decision has been filed in the High Court and it will be heard on Friday.
The NDMC had decided to change the name of the road after three separate proposals, including from two BJP MPs, were sent to it after the death of President Kalam on July 27.
(Photos: Sandeep Saxena)
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