Allahabad is set to be rechristened as ‘Prayag’, a long pending demand of sadhus and saints of the Sangam City.
The new name is likely to be approved by the state cabinet soon, sources in the government said in lucknow on Thursday.
During his recent visit to Allahabad to release dates of Shahi Snan (royal bathing), Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad has urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename Allahabad as Prayag before the coming Kumbh Mela in 2019.
President of Akhara Parishad Mahant Narendra Giri also confirmed that that Yogi Adityanath accepted the proposal of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj. He said that soon the process for the change of name would be completed and it would be sent to the Central government for approval.
Prayag was renamed as Allahabad in 1580 by Mughal emperor Akbar as he maintained that it was a place of Allah (God) and hence its name should be changed.
“The wrong that the Mughal emperor did should be corrected. We expect that the Chief Minister will issue orders towards changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj,” Giri said.
In 2001, after Kumbh Mela, the then Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri were also in favour of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj but the promise remained unfulfilled. Former Union minister Kalraj Mishra was the state BJP president at that time.
