Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: The Pragati Maidan metro station will now be known as Supreme Court metro station, while Mukarba Chowk in Jahangirpuri will be known as Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra Chowk.

The Delhi government’s naming committee approved the name changes in its meeting on Tuesday. The demands for renaming Mukarba Chowk and Pragati Maidan were long pending.

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that the committee also decided to name Mehrauli Badarpur Road after Acharya Shri Mahapragya.

“Mukarba Chowk is one of the most important junctions in the country. Naming the Chowk as well as the flyover after Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra who was martyred in the Kargil War in 1999 can inspire the people of Delhi and those who come to Delhi,” Sisodia said, adding that the decision is a deserving tribute to Batra whose parents had requested to honor the martyr.

The demand to change the name of Pragati Maidan metro station on the Blue Line of DMRC to Supreme Court metro station was made by the Supreme Court in September 2019. The request to change the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road to Acharya Shri Mahapragya was made by people and various organizations, the government said.

The government’s decision also included naming Lajpat Nagar Flyover as Sri Jhoole Lal Setu and Shakti Nagar Chowk as Bhagwan Mahavir Chowk and MB Road as Acharya Sri Mahapragya Marg. The naming committee also decided that now the MG Road will be known as Acharya Tulsi Marg. Rani Bagh Market roundabout will now be known as Maharshi Dayanand Chowk.

The government has clarified that the names were not changed to represent politicians. “People crossing through Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra Chowk will be inspired,” Sisodia said.

In 2017, Delhi government constituted the naming committee headed by the Deputy CM with the mandate to name government roads and institutions under the state purview. “The changes are to be made effective in a month,” said Sisodia.

