Jharkhand's railway station, town to be renamed after Lord Krishna

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has cleared the Jharkhand government's proposal to rename a railway station in Garhwa district after Lord Krishna.

As per an Indian Express report, the Raghubar Das-led state government had proposed that the railway station and Nagar Untari town should be renamed as Banshidhar Nagar after Bandshidhar Temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna.

According to the report, the state government wants to develop the town on the lines of Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh to boost tourism in the city. The government also plans to make Banshidhar Nagar part of the Lord Krishna religious circuit. The state is also looking forward for a collaboration with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) for the same.


To rename a city, village or station, it is mandatory to follow the Centre's guidelines. As per the procedure, state governments have to get a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) issued from the Union Home Ministry if they want to rename any place under their jurisdiction.

The NOC is issued only after making sure that there are no adverse reports from the agencies like Intelligence Bureau, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Department of Post, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Railways.

After getting all the approvals, the government issues a notification informing the change of the name to prevent any confusion. The Department of Post and GSI are also informed about the same.