Uttar Pradesh

• 30 May 2022

Basti will be Renamed as 'Vashishtha Nagar'

Why in News?

• On May 28, 2022, District Magistrate of Basti, Uttar Pradesh, Soumya Agarwal, informed that the proposal to rename the basti as 'Vashishtha Nagar' after Maharishi Vashishtha has been sent again to the Revenue Council.

Key Points

• DM Soumya Agarwal said that a proposal to change the name of Basti district has been sent to the government after obtaining consent from all the departments of the district.
• He said that the expenses incurred on changing the name of the district will be borne by all the departments together. There will be no additional government expenditure for this. A report to this effect has also been given by the Public Works Department.
• The resolution mentions that due to the ashram of Maharishi Vashishtha (the kulguru of Lord Shrirama) in basti in the Ramayana period, it was named Vashishti. At the Makhaura Dham located here, King Dashrath performed the Putreshti Yajna with the inspiration of Maharishi Vashishtha.
• Earlier, on November 16, 2019, the proposal was sent on behalf of the then District Magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan. When the Council sought information about the expenditure on renaming, a huge expenditure of one crore was stated, due to which the process could not proceed.
• It may be recalled that after renaming the names of Allahabad and Faizabad, in the year 2019, the demand for renaming of Basti district as Vashishtha Nagar started gaining momentum. Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced to rename the medical college in basti after Maharishi Vashishtha, giving it more strength.
• Basti district has historical, cultural and geographical importance. In ancient times it used to be a part of the Kosala Empire. In 1865, it was separated from Gorakhpur to become a district and in the year 1997 it was made a an Administrative Division (mandal).