New ward names get thumbs down

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru:

With the BBMP ward delimitation notification released, 45 new wards have been added to the list. The names given to the new wards have drawn mixed reactions from the citizens of Bengaluru on social media.

A citizen, Udaya Kumar P L tweeted, “A place is far greater than any one individual. But when deification is the norm, you propose names of individuals for the city’s wards”.

Another Twitter user said, “The ward name should be named after the locality/village name. That is the easiest way to identify and remember. Though they can names of personalities elsewhere say organise programs in schools, colleges, parks etc or in textbooks etc.”

Kataariveera tweeted, “Same thing they did to few metro stations causing confusion as to which place to get down.”

Some of the names and ward numbers are: Kanneshwara Rama (36), Veeramadakari (37), Chanakya (39), Chhatrapati Shivaji (40), Ranadheera Kanteerava (43), Veera Sindhura Lakshmana (44), Vijayanagara Krishnadevaraya (45) and Deen Dayalu (208).

While the BBMP has named several wards after historical personalities, many of these new names seem to have no correlation with the localities they stand for. The BBMP Chief Commissioner, on Friday, said that there was no process of gathering public opinion while deciding on the names.

While speaking to reporters here, he also avoided questions on how the civic body zeroed in on the names for the new wards. “Any objection to the names can be submitted to the government. Citizens can also suggest names,” he said.

Proposal from history buffs ignored

A bunch of history enthusiasts had sent a proposal to the civic body regarding the names of wards. The proposal had a list of wards where historic inscriptions were found. The current names of the wards (before the delimitation) along with the suggested names based on the locality’s history and the inscriptions found there were listed in the proposal.

According to the proposal, 21 wards could be renamed to better represent the history of the area. For example, HSR Layout ward could be renamed Iblur, while Radhakrishna Temple ward could be named Nagashettyhalli ward.