Government is required to ascertain the development of cities. But, the politicians find it more convenient to change the name instead of focusing on pressing issues like infrastructure, high pollution levels, low employment opportunities, poor sanitation, among several others. This is exactly what the UP government did when it decided to rename Allahabad to its original name ‘Prayagraj’.
Government’s decision has seen mixed reactions from the people. While few are supporting this decision, others have criticised the move to change the name of the city. These reactions are because of the different emotional and cultural attachment to the city. While we discuss the cultural aspect of this name changing exercise, we ignore the huge money that would be incurred in this process. This money will be drawn from taxpayers’ pockets.
We citizens pay our taxes so that we get good facilities from the government. I have lived in Allahabad for more than two years, and I must say that the government needs to work upon the poorly constructed roads which see heavy traffic almost every day. Further, the administration needs to effectively work to address pollution levels and poor sanitation in the city.
By changing the name, the government might have been able to bring our city into limelight, but that is not the solution. The problem of the people residing in this city needs to be addressed.
The name-changing process will require changing signage and display boards at every corner of the city, on the highways, schools, government offices, etc. The money wasted on this rejig could have been used to improve the socio-economic condition of the city like relief plans for poor and homeless people, employment opportunities for the youth, better infrastructre, among other things.
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