Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the central government has given its approval to rename Hoshangabad district in the state as Narmadapuram.
Similarly, the Centre has also given its nod to rename Babai town in the district as Makhan Nagar, after noted Hindi poet and journalist Makhanlal Chaturvedi.
"The Madhya Pradesh government had sent to the Centre a proposal to change the name of Hoshangabad to Narmadapuram and of Babai to Makhan Nagar, which has been cleared," Mr. Chouhan said in a tweet.
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"I express my heartfelt gratitude to honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for bringing to reality people's aspirations," he tweeted.
The change in name will come into effect as soon as the State government issues a notification.
According to a State government website, Hoshangabad had derived its name from Hoshang Shah Ghori, the second king to Malwa of the Ghori line who conquered it. Narmadapur was its erstwhile name.
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Although there is no proper account of the ancient history of Hoshangabad district, its name appeared in historical records first during the reign of Sultan Hoshangshah Ghori in 1405 AD, who built a small fort at Hoshangabad along with two others at Handia and Joga, it added.
Meanwhile, State Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja targeted the Chouhan government over the issue.
"The name of Hoshangabad situated on the banks of Narmada river has been changed to Narmadapuram but the district's Narmada River is being disfigured, when will the illegal sand mining in Narmada end?" he asked in a tweet.
"At least after naming it after Maa Narmada, Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) government should resolve to stop the illegal business of illegal mining (in the water body)," he added.