Three years after renaming Aurangabad city in Maharashtra, South Central Railway on Saturday announced that Aurangabad railway station has been officially renamed as ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Station’.
“The name of “Aurangabad” station has been changed to “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” station,” South Central Railway said in a post on X on Saturday.
Its new station code will be ‘CPSN’, the Central Railway said in a release. The station comes under Nanded Division of South Central Railway.
The press release reads, “The Competent Authority has approved the change of name of “Aurangabad” Railway Station in Nanded Division via South Central Railway to “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” Railway Station with Railway Rules for the station as CPSN.”
“Accordingly, “Aurangabad” railway station will continue to be called “CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR” Railway Station and the station code will be CPSN,” he added.
Mahayuti issues an announcement
The BJP-led Mahayuti government issued a notification on October 15 to change the name of the Aurangabad railway station after approval by the home ministry.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who handled the matter, thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Railway Minister Ashwin Vaishnaw for approving the proposal.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde were also part of the effort, a statement from Pawar’s office said. Last month, Pawar wrote to Vaishnaw urging that the station be renamed to match the city’s new name.
The move came nearly three years after the then Eknath Shinde-led government formally renamed Aurangabad city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The Maharashtra government had earlier renamed Ahmednagar district as Ahilyanagar district.
“This long pending demand has now been fulfilled. The renaming has a special significance as we are celebrating the 300th birth anniversary of Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar,” Pawar said.
Several organizations and citizens demanded a change in the name of the station after the city was renamed Ahilyanagar.
Pawar also said that efforts are underway to rename Aurangabad railway station as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station.
Formerly named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the city was given a new name as a tribute to Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the second ruler of the Maratha state.
Aurangabad Railway Station was opened in 1900, during the reign of the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is a tourist hub surrounded by many historical monuments including the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
(With input from agencies)
