Chhattisgarh Government To Rename Naya Raipur As Atal Nagar In Former Prime Minister’s Honour  

The Chhattisgarh Government on Tuesday (21 August) made a slew of announcements in a bid to honour former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s legacy, IANS has reported.

Following a cabinet meeting, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh announced that the Naya Raipur smart city would be renamed as ‘Atal Nagar’. IANS also reported that the Chhattisgarh Cabinet approved the renaming of the Bilaspur University, a medical college, state capital expressway and an under construction central park after the former prime minister.

The Government has also decided to institute awards honouring people who have rendered yeoman service to society and these awards are to be called the ‘Atal Sushashan Awards’. It has been proposed that these awards would be handed out on 1 November to mark the foundation day of the state of Chhattisgarh.

As per a PTI report, Vajpayee’s statue would be installed in Naya Raipur and 27 district headquarters of the state. The state cabinet also approved that the second phase of Singh’s Vikas Yatra would be renamed as Atal Vikas Yatra.

The Chhattisgarh Government’s announcements come on the heels of the statement of India’s chef de Mission (CDM) for Asian Games, 2018 who confirmed that all the medals secured by Indian athletes would be dedicated to the late former prime minister.