JAIPUR, Feb 12: A lake and a building in Ajmer, both over 100 years old with British-era names, were renamed by the Rajasthan government, Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani said on Wednesday.
The city’s main lake, Foy Sagar, named after a British officer has been rechristened Varun Sagar and the King Edward Memorial Bhawan will now be known as Maharishi Dayanand Vishrant Grih.
Devnani, who is also the Ajmer North MLA, said that the process of changing the name of the lake and monument was completed after Ajmer Municipal Corporation issued orders on it.
“Even after the independence of the country, the names of many places in Ajmer remained symbols of slavery. These symbols of slavery caused hurt, but we could not change their names,” he told reporters in Ajmer.
Foy Sagar was named after an engineer during the British rule, he said.
Now that 132 years have passed, the lake was renamed after Lord Varun, the god of water, Devnani said.
In time, a statue of Lord Varun and a ghat will also be built around the lake, where people can sit and offer prayers, he said.
A large number of people from the Sindhi community worship the lake’s water, Devnani added.
The speaker also said the 113-year-old King Edward Memorial Bhawan on Ajmer’s Railway Station Road has now been renamed Maharishi Dayanand Vishrant Grih.
“The building was named on Tuesday. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati achieved nirvana in Ajmer,” Devnani said. Symbols of slavery are now being removed, symbols of freedom and inspiration are being installed, he added. (PTI)
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