Three railway stations of Pratapgarh will be renamed after famous deities associated with these stations. Pratapgarh Junction will now be Belha Devi Dham, Antu station will be Maa Chandrika Devi Dham and Vishwanathganj station will be Shanidev Dham Vishwanath. A senior railway official said, “The Union Home Ministry has approved the change of names of these stations. Now, the Railway Board will issue a formal notification, after which the names of these stations will be changed.” Earlier, MP from Pratapgarh, Sangam Lal Gupta, had sent a proposal to the Railway Ministry to change the names of Pratapgarh Junction and Antu and Vishwanathganj railway stations on the basis of religious importance of these stations. The MP had contested that since religious faith is also attached to these places, their sentiments should be considered while renaming these stations.
NEW PLAN: At a time when Sangam city is being decked up for Mahakumbh-2025 through various projects, a new plan has been proposed by the Smart City project authorities in which one side of the stretch of Motilal Nehru road, will be beautified. The 800m stretch from Mazar crossing to Bank road crossing WILL speak of the gallantry of the Indian Army through murals depicting famous battles along with military weapons, tanks among others, to inspire the youth of the city.
The stretch lies opposite to Commissioner residence, right from Mazar crossing, passing besides NCC headquarters and Gandhi Bhavan, Law and Commerce faculty of Allahabad University. All the stakeholders, including Army, Cantonment board and the district administration have principally agreed on this project. “We plan to depict war themes which played a significant role in the history of the country. Likewise, the Kargil war, Surgical strike and the 1971 Indo-Pak war, all will find its place in the wall that will run on one side of the stretch of this road,” said SK Sinha, Mission manager, Smart City Limited.
He added the murals of Army warriors with their weapons mounted over a structure will be created, showing the warriors fighting the war. It may also depict the wars which happened years ago. Authorities of Smart City Project have asked the Army officials for more details about the wars and to provide them with obsolete artillery including tanks and guns to be mounted on pedestals as exhibits. The aim of this project is to inspire and motivate the youth, especially students of Allahabad University (AU) and other educational institutions, said Sinha.
“Army has already done lot of beautification at both New Cantt and Old Cantt but with this project, the bravery of our national heroes will be shown in civil area of the city, which will not only make an impact on the youth but also on the visitors arriving in the city, especially from Lucknow,” he said. Multiple lights will be installed over the murals. The greenery of the area will be maintained to attract more people and to promote the Green India Mission. “War scenes will raise voice within the youth and will make them work for the betterment of the country. It will also become a medium of information for them and inspire them to join the forces,” said Sinha.
Padyatra: The iconic chariot of the ‘holy parikrama’, taken up by members of ISKCON, popularly known as ‘All India Padyatra’, reached Sangam city. This is the seventh parikrama undertaken across the country, the first being undertaken in 1984 from Pandharpur (Maharashtra) by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s dearest disciple, Lokenath Swami Guru Maharaj. This year’s parikrama is led by 47-year-old Acharya Das who has been in the journey for the last 14 years. The team of 17 ISKCON members had reached Gauhania (outskirts of Prayagraj) on Tuesday from where they moved to Mama-Bhanja talab. “At around 6am, the holy parikrama entered the city limits.,” said Anuj Agarwal, a local businessman of Naini and member of the organisation. “The padyatra (marching on foot) undertakes the journey of 10 kms each day as the four ‘Nandi’ (bulls) walk for this distance before taking rest and embarking on the journey,” says Chandra Mohan Das, one of the member undertaking the parikrama. The highlight of the ‘padyatra’ is the beautifully decorated chariot which is pulled by four bulls. In all the team has 17 individuals, three tractor trolleys and five superior breed bulls- Laxman, Brindavan, Pandurang, Navdeep and Kush. Earlier, Kush’s brother, Luv, too was the member of the journey but he died during Covid-19. The yatra started from Dwarika in April 2021. It will now commence for Varanasi.