'Khooni' Village In Uttarakhand Renamed To 'Respect Public Sentiments'

In March, the Uttarakhand government announced the renaming of several towns and villages across different districts. In Haridwar, Aurangzebpur in Bhagwanpur block has been renamed Shivaji Nagar.

The Uttarakhand government has changed the name of the 'Khooni' village in Pithoragarh district to "respect public sentiments". Now, the village will be known as 'Devigram', as per an official notification.

The notification read that the Ministry of Home Affairs has given permission to change the name of the village.

"Therefore, now the Governor, exercising the powers conferred by Section 21 of the Uttar Pradesh General Clauses Act, 1904 (Uttar Pradesh Act No. 1, Year 1904), hereby grants his approval to change the name of the village "Khooni" located in tehsil Pithoragarh of district Pithoragarh from the date of publication of this order in the Gazette, as per the schedule given below," the notification read.

"The Governor also directs that nothing in this notification shall affect any legal proceedings already commenced or pending in any court of law in which jurisdiction has been exercised so far in relation to the said matter," it added.

Uttarakhand Renamed Places In Haridwar

In March this year, the Uttarakhand government announced the renaming of several towns and villages across different districts. In Haridwar, Aurangzebpur in Bhagwanpur block has been renamed Shivaji Nagar, while Ghaziwali in Bahadrabad block is now Arya Nagar. Chandpur in the same block will henceforth be known as Jyotiba Phule Nagar.

Two villages in Narsan block, Mohammedpur Jaat and Khanpur Kursali, have been renamed Mohanpur Jaat and Ambedkar Nagar, respectively. In Khanpur block, Idirispur has been renamed Nandpur, and Khanpur is now officially called Shree Krishnapur. Similarly, Akbarpur Fazalpur in Roorkee has been renamed Vijay Nagar.

In Dehradun, several localities have also been given new names. Miyanwala has been renamed Ramjiwala, while Peerwala is now Kesri Nagar. Chandpur Khurd will now be known as Prithviraj Nagar, and Abdulpur has been renamed Daksh Nagar.

The hill district of Nainital also saw key name changes, particularly for important roads. Nawabi Road has been renamed Atal Marg, in honour of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while the Panchakki to IIT road will now be known as Guru Gowalkar Marg.

In Udham Singh Nagar, the Sultanpur Patti Nagar Panchayat has been given a new name, Kaushalyapuri. Officials have stated that the renaming exercise is aimed at restoring cultural heritage and giving towns and roads names that reflect historical and social icons. The process of name changes is being carried out across multiple districts, with more proposals under review.