Lucknow's iconic Hazratganj Chauraha becomes Atal Chowk

Lucknow's famous 'Hazratganj Chauraha' has been renamed as 'Atal Chowk' in memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"On the occasion of the first death anniversary of late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, Hazratganj Chowk' has been renamed after him as 'Atal Chowk' from August 16," read poster put up at the chowk.

One of the founder members of BJP, Vajpayee died last year on August 16 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after a prolonged illness. He was 93.

Sharing details of the decision, Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia on Friday had told ANI: "A number of councillors were demanding different roads and roundabouts be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee."

"However, we were looking for something grand enough to fit the stature of the former Prime Minister. It has been decided that most prominent and biggest intersection of Lucknow -- Hazratganj Chaurha -- will be named after Bharat Ratna Vajpayee."

"As the Mayor of the city, we have prepared a draft for developing a memorial for him -- Atal Smriti Upvan. In this memorial, we plan to place his statue along with his 51 poems, speeches and other memorabilia. We have already started a process for identifying land for this memorial," she said.

On August 21 last year, Chhattisgarh government had announced to rename Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar. Besides this, the BJP-ruled states have also decided to rename a few other places and institutions after his name.

Similarly, Jharkhand government has also renamed several places and colleges after Vajpayee's name. For example, Sahibganj Harbour has been renamed as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Harbour Sahibganj.

-ANI