In yet another name-changing spree, the government has renamed Jammu’s iconic City Square to Bharat Mata Chowk on Sunday, March 1.
According to NDTV, the commercial hub in old Jammu was renamed after the passage of a resolution by the general house of the BJP-led Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC).
Explaining the decision, Deputy Mayor of the JMC Purnima Sharma said:
I had moved a resolution in the general house some four months ago demanding renaming of the ”City Chowk” to ”Bharat Mata Chowk on the popular demand of the public. This place is historic and a witness to major decisions and protests in the past. Every year people are hoisting the tricolour on Republic and Independence days in this chowk. There was a popular demand from the public to rename this chowk as Bharat Mata Chowk.
The point where the road starts, leading to the central location, has been named as Atal Chowk in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
While the change in name was widely discussed by netizens, not everyone seemed equally impressed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party swept the JMC polls winning 43 of the 75 wards after the Urban local bodies elections were held after a gap of 13 years.