The Central Government has approved the Madhya Pradesh state government’s proposal to rename Hoshangabad district as Narmadapuram and a Babai town as Makhan Nagar, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said today.
Hoshangabad, which is located on the southern banks of the river Narmada, is 70 km from the state capital Bhopal. It is popular for its beautiful ghats along the banks of the river Narmada. A Satsang Bhavan on the bank of the river is regularly visited by Hindu saints who hold religious discourses on Ramcharitmanas and the Bhagavad Gita.
Earlier it used to be called Narmadapur and was later named Hoshangabad after Hoshang Shah Gori, the first ruler of the Malwa Sultanate.
Babai, a town in Hoshangabad district, is the birthplace of Makhan Lal Chaturvedi, a famous Hindi poet, freedom fighter, and journalist, and therefore it is now named after him as Makhan Nagar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government had announced plans to rename the district and the town on the occasion of Narmada Jayanti 2021 and a proposal was sent to the Centre for seeking its approval.
The state government will make an official announcement of changing names on the occasion of Narmada Jayanti this year.
