Dadar road gets new name, locals say ‘but nobody asked us!’

The street, now officially called Nirupankar Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari road, was never named before

Official naming of a road in Naigaon, Dadar East, has irked the locals who alleged that the former corporator, Urmila Panchal, did not consult with them before proposing a new name.

The dispute is over the naming of the road along the Vyaghreshwar temple. For years, the locals referred to it as Vyaghreshwar temple road. However, the BMC passed a proposal to name it as Nirupankar Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari road before its tenure ended on March 7, much to the displeasure of the local residents.

"The road was never officially named before, but as Vyaghreshwar temple is famous here, the road also became famous as Vyaghreshwar temple road. This has been the identity of the road for several years.

There was no need to give this road another name," said a resident on the condition of anonymity.

Shree Vyaghreshwar Mandir Samiti Trust has made a formal complaint and written a letter to BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, appealing to cancel the proposal.

Panchal, from Shiv Sena, justified the naming and said, "Nirupankar Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari spiritual lecture, known as Nirupan, takes place at the school near the temple. Therefore, I proposed to name this road after him."

She added that all procedures were followed, and the BMC "published a notice about naming of the road. But no one objected then. Now, some people have raised objections, but not all locals seem to be opposed."

The guidelines allow corporators to table proposals for naming of roads, etc. Data shows over 300 such proposals are passed every year in the civic body.

Nearly 100 such proposals were passed between February and March 7.