CST station & CSIA to be renamed, title of ‘Maharaj’ to be added before ‘Shivaji’
CST Station. Picture Courtesy: Indian Travel Places
The Maharashtra state cabinet on Thursday decided to alter the names of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal by adding the missing title of ‘Maharaj’, befitting the stature of the legendary Maratha warrior king.
The new names for the airport and station will be Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who presided over the meeting, said, “The demand for incorporating the word -Maharaj – was long pending. So, the cabinet gave its consent on Thursday.”
The decision to modify the names is being touted as a political move to woo Maratha voters, who have been holding morchas across state demanding reservations, ahead of the upcoming civic polls.
Mumbai, Solapur, Akola and Nagpur civic constituencies will go to polls early in 2017.
Meanwhile, there is no saying how long it would take for the names to reflect across the board and how much it will cost the Aviation Board and Railway Ministry owing to the sheer number of changes involved.
The airport operator especially has a tough task ahead because it would involve notifying hundreds of international entities it deals with an ongoing basis and getting all agreements amended to reflect the new name.
While the erstwhile Sahar International Airport was renamed as CSIA in 1999, the former Victoria Terminus, the UNESCO world heritage site and headquarters of the Central Railway was rechristened as CST in 1996.
Bombay was officially renamed as Mumbai in 1995 after the first Shiv Sena-BJP government ruled the state for five years. A year later, the Bombay Municipal Corporation was renamed as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other major entities underwent similar changes.
