Mumbai: The Centre on Friday notified the change of names for Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities within the Marathwada area of Maharashtra. Accordingly, Aurangabad will now be referred to as `Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar` and Osmanabad shall be referred to as `Dharashiv`, as per a Central notification.
This comes after the Maharashtra authorities wrote to the Centre on October 20, 2022, looking for the change of names that had been cleared by the state cupboard.
While Osmanabad reverts to its historic title of `Dharashiv` after a bunch of caves close to the city, Aurangabad will honor the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj`s son and successor – Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj – who dominated after his father for 8 years (1681-1689), until his demise on the age of 31 in March 1689.
Soon after the Centre`s communication, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for making this attainable.
