The Uttar Pradesh government has requested the Centre to approve the proposal to rename the airports in Bareilly, Kanpur and Agra. The three airports which are currently defence establishments will be converted into civilian airports as part of the regional connectivity scheme of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The state civil aviation department has sent a proposal to rename the Bareilly airport as ‘Nath Nagri’, which is said to be the ancient name of the city for its history of having ardent worshippers of Lord Shiva. The city of Bareilly is surrounded on all sides by as many as seven Lord Shiva temples–Alakhnath, Trivatinath, Marhinath, Dhopeshwarnath, Vankhandinath, Tapeshwarnath and Pashupatinath.
The Agra airport proposed to be named after BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay, while the Kanpur’s Chakeri airport is proposed to be renamed after Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, the report says. The proposal says that Kanpur was earlier known as Kanha Pur and was founded by Sachendi King Hindu Singh.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier renamed the civil terminals of the IAF’s Gorakhpur airport to Mahayogi Gorakhnath Airport. UP Civil Aviation Minister Nand Gopal Nandi said, “We have reached out to the Centre to get the airports renamed. A meeting with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation is expected soon”.
Recently, the government had renamed the Mughalsarai railway station to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction in a bid to revive the legacy of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. The state government is also moving to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj before the Kumbh Mela to be held in the city in 2019.
