New Delhi: Just before the Prime Minister of India inaugurates the Habibganj railway station, the Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote to the Centre asking to change the name of the station after Rani Kamlapati the widow Gond ruler of Nizam Shah.
In his letter, the Madhya Pradesh government said that the renaming of the station will honour Rani Kamlapati's legacy and bravery. It further said that it is in accordance with the Indian government's decision to celebrate November 15 as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas' in remembrance of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.
This week starting Monday will be honouring the Schedule Tribes of India. The Modi government has announced that November 15 will celebrate 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas'. During his visit, Prime Minister Modi will also attend the massive tribal convention organized here on the birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda.
The Gonds are the largest tribal community in India, with a population of over 12 million. According to linguists, the Gonds belong to the Gondi-Manda subgroup of the South Central branch of the Dravidian dialect family.
However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Pragya Singh Thakur has demanded to rename the Habibganj railway station after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Thakur tweeted on Thursday, 'The arrival of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tribal Pride Day in Bhopal on November 15, 2021, is a good sign for our Bhopal. I am sure that Modi ji will announce the name of Habibganj railway station after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vapayee ji.'
Habibganj railway station in Bhopal is the second world-class model station in the country and has all the facilities that are available at international airports. This was the second such station after the return of the Modi government in the year 2019, which has been built in a luxurious way. The first was Gandhinagar.
It has been developed under a public-private partnership and built by a private company named Bansal Group. The total cost of the station project is around Rs 450 crore.
According to ANI, escalators and lifts have been installed at the station to reach the platform. A seating arrangement of 700 to 1,100 passengers has been made in the open concourse. For information about the movement of trains, display boards with different languages have been installed throughout the station.
The station will also boast of food courts, restaurants, air-conditioned waiting rooms, dormitory, VIP lounge. Around 160 CCTV cameras have also been installed at the station to keep round-the-clock surveillance.