Administration sets ball rolling for renaming Basti after sage Vashishtha

The local administration has sent a proposal to the state government for renaming Basti after Maharishi Vashishtha, a sage of the Ramayan era, an official and the

The local administration has sent a proposal to the state government for renaming Basti after Maharishi Vashishtha, a sage of the Ramayan era, an official and the local MP said.

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The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad as Ayodhya in 2018.

Basti MP Harish Dwivedi said, “We want Basti district to be renamed after Maharishi Vashishtha and a proposal for the same has been sent to the UP government.”

The two names which have been proposed are Vashishti Nagar and Vashishti, the MP said.

Basti district magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan said to reporters, “The proposal to rename Basti has been sent for further action. The cost of renaming has been estimated at Rs 1 crore.”

Devotees believe that Basti is the ancient city where Lord Ram stayed for a day during his journey to Janakpuri from Ayodhya.

Maharishi Vasishtha is also known as the chief author of the seventh mandala (text) of the Rig Veda and he was believed to be in possession of Kamdhenu, the divine cow which fulfils every wish of devotees.

Last year, the demand for renaming Basti, 55 kilometres from Faizabad (now Ayodhya), gained momentum after chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the upcoming Basti medical college will be named after Maharishi Vishishtha. BJP MP Harish Dwivedi had also thrown his weight behind the renaming of the district at the time.