VARANASI: Ahead of the formal renaming of Mughalsarai Junction, this century-old station of East Central Railway (ECR) that links New Delhi with Kolkata, is getting a quick saffron makeover. The junction will be formally renamed after late RSS ideologue Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay at a ceremony on August 5.

Railways officials said work is in full swing to paint the edges and pillars of the station building in saffron before the ceremony, but declined to comment on the choice of colour.

Apart from Union railway minister Piyush Goyal, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP president Amit Shah are expected to attend the renaming function.

Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay was found dead in mysterious circumstances near this railway station on February 24, 1968.

“Software upgradation for internal and online operations, including ticket booking and finding current location of trains with the new code (DDU), will be completed before the function,” DRM Pankaj Saxena told TOI.

This railway station, situated in UP’s Chandauli district , was constructed during the British rule when the railway tracks crossed the place in 1862. With time, the station became Asia’s biggest goods train yard and one of the busiest stations of the country with the daily movement of around 250 trains.

The Yogi cabinet had passed the proposal of renaming Mughalsarai township and railway station in June last year.The renaming of the town to DDU Palika Parishad was done on September 12, 2017.

Later, governor Ram Naik gave his consent for renaming the station and the UP government issued a notification in this regard on June 4. However, Goyal through a tweet had announced the renaming of Mughalsarai on October 13, 2017.

After the renaming, a function will also be held to lay the foundation of a 63-ft statue of Upadhyay. The Rs 74 crore DDU Memorial Project will include museum, auditorium, vedic udyan (garden) and beautification work at Padao crossing on the border of Varanasi and Chandauli districts. The project is expected to be completed by December end this year.

