Lucknow: After renaming Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya, the Uttar Pradesh government has embarked on yet another name-changing operation. Basti District may be renamed 'Vashishti Nagar' or 'Vashishthi', after a Maharishi Vashishta, belonging to the Ramayan Era.
The district administration is now busy doing its homework for the purpose, as it assesses the cost involved in renaming the district.
"We want the district to be named after Maharishi Vashishta. A proposal has been sent to the state government in this regard,” said MP Harish Dwivedi.
Basti DM Ashutosh Niranjan said that if the renaming takes place, the cost incurred would be an estimated Rs 1 crore.
However, Chairman of the Revenue Board Deepak Trivedi said that he is yet to receive any such proposal. “The proposal is yet to reach us. Once we receive it, we will follow the due procedure to forward the proposal to the government,” he said.
Many devotees believe that the district was the ancient city where Lord Rama had stayed while he was on his journey to Janakpuri from Ayodhya. Some people also believe that Maharishi Vashishta was the author of the seventh mandal of the Rig Veda. The stories dictate that he owned a divine cow called ‘Kamdhenu’, believed to fulfill devotees' wishes.
The demand for renaming Basti started last year after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the upcoming Basti Medical College will be named after Maharishi Vashishtha.
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