Teen Murti Chowk to be renamed after Israeli city

In view of growing relations between Israel and India, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has renamed the iconic Teen Murti Chowk and Teen Murti Marg in central Delhi as “Teen Murti Hafia” and “Teen Murti Hafia Chowk.”

The NDMC approved the proposal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Jewish nation. The renaming has been done after Israeli city Hafia, which the PM Narendra Modi is supposedly going to visit this year. The decision was taken at a meeting presided by CM Arvind Kejriwal. The Israeli city, which these places are being named after, was liberated from the Ottoman occupation by Indian soldiers during WWI.

A large number of Indian soldiers of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade died during the battle and nearly 900 are buried in Israel, an NDMC official said.

Every year, September 23 is celebrated as Haifa Day in India and Israel as a mark of respect to the soldiers who lost their lives in the battle and to mark the end to 400 years of the Turkish control over the city.

This is the second renaming of a road approved by the NDMC within a month— and fifth in two years.

The civic body had renamed Park Street earlier this month after Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ahead of that country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s India visit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Israel in July, which will be the first by an Indian Prime Minister, as the two countries celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations.