Mughalsarai residents don’t think renaming rly station a good idea
many locals here have their way, they will pull the chain on the move to rename Mughalsarai railway station, one of the busiest in the country, after Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya. The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on June 6 decided to rename the station and send a proposal to the Centre.
But like many people here, Pappu Chaurasia and Mohammad Jaleel don’t like the idea.
Not many locals know who founded the town which has never witnessed a communal riot, remaining peaceful even after December 6, 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya, plunging many parts of the country into communal violence.
Mukesh Pratap Singh, who teaches history at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Post Graduate College, Mughalsarai, said, “The foundation of the town was laid during the rule of Emperor Sher Shah Suri between 1542 and 1543.”
“He ensured massive plantation of trees species in an area (which is now Mughalsarai) near the Grand Trunk Road. He built seven inns (sarais) and dug four wells in the area,” Singh said. “The inns were used for the temporary stay of his cavalry that had to travel from Banaras (Varanasi) to Patna via Mughalsarai in case of a battle. Travellers also used to stay in the inns. Later, Mughal emperor Akbar also constructed inns in the area,” Singh said.
He said that ruins of the two inns were existed till 1930 in Mughal Chak area of the town and disappeared thereafter.
Villages and markets developed around the inns. As the inns were constructed by Mughals, the locals started calling the place Mughalsarai, he said.
Two old wells still exist but they are lying in utter neglect.
Singh said the process to set up Mughalsarai railway station began in 1862 with the formation of Mughalsarai-Patna railway division when Lord Elgin was the Viceroy of India.
With formation of the Mughalsarai-Allahabad division in 1864, railway traffic started between Mughalsarai and Mirzapur for the first time and was extended to Allahabad. The Mughalsarai-Varanasi rail division was formed in 1898 and expanded further. In 1900, Mughalsarai-Gaya rail division was formed.
The Mughalsarai station building was constructed in 1880 and reconstructed in 1905, Singh said.
It was renovated after the then railway minister Kamalapati Tripathi sanctioned Rs 1 crore for its development and beautification, Singh said. Station manager Narendra Kumar said 150 passenger trains and 130 goods trains pass through the station daily.
With eight platforms and Asia’s largest marshaling yard, the station It handles around 1,500 wagons daily. Mughalsarai has three yards. It is part of East Central Railway.
Prakash Narayan Chauhan, who runs a book stall at the station, said the station should be given a heritage look. But he refused to comment on the controversy over the move to rename the station.
Mithai Lal Chaurasia, resident of Ali Nagar, said: “There is no point renaming the station. People will call it Mughalsarai railway station even after it is renamed. The government should pay attention to employment generation and other important issues.”
Maulana Bilal Ahmad Quasami of Madarsa Irfan-ul Uloom (an Islamic seminary), said: “Mughalsarai railway station is one of the busiest in the country. It is of historic importance and has completed over a 100 years. It should not be renamed.”
Congress’s city unit president Ramji Gupta is also against the move. His party is staging an indefinite sit-in at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Park here.
“We are against renaming of the station. But if government is so keen to rename the station, it should be named after former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri or Pt Kamlapati Tripathi who played a crucial role in development of the town.”