AGRA: Mayor of Agra Naveen Jain has demanded that the central government name Raja Mandi railway station located in the heart of the city after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away on Thursday.Paying tributes to the former Prime Minister, the Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Monday also declared that the modern auditorium proposed to be developed on a vacant plot at Panchkuiyan road will be named Atal Bihari Vajpayee auditorium. Besides, the main road along river Yamuna will be named Atal Bihari Vajpayee Marg.In addition, the AMC administration launched a special scheme, “Atal Adarsh Naveen Mohalla”. aimed at developing at least 10 ‘mohallas’ (colonies) in different parts of the city every year.Mayor Jain said, “Throughout his life, Atal ji maintained a special relation with Agra. It is a matter of pride that his ancestral village, Bateshwar, is in Agra district. During his visits to the city, he mostly used to arrive at Raja Mandi railway station. I have received him there several times. He had spent time waiting for a train on the benches of Raja Mandi station. Soon, the municipal house will pass a proposal to name the Raja Mandi station after Atal ji. The matter will be pursued with the central government.”Jain added, “We have decided to install a large statute of Bharat Ratna Atal ji at a major crossing or a public spot in the city. A team of councilors will decide a suitable location. Apart from this, the main road side by river Yamuna, where a large number of tourists visit every day, will be named Atal Bihari Vajpayee Marg.”Municipal commissioner Arun Prakash said, “The 1,500-seat auditorium proposed to be developed at Panchkuiyan road will be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The state-of-the-art auditorium will be developed at a cost of around Rs 24 crore.”Additional municipal commissioner Vijay Kumar said, “Under the Atal Adarsh Naveen Mohalla scheme, which has been launched in memory of the former Prime Minister, 10 localities have been shortlisted. Here, various development works will be conducted in a time-bound manner. Works related to street lighting, upgradation of drainage system, door-to-door garbage collection and water supply will be undertaken. Adequate number of dustbins, toilet facilities, plantation of saplings and beautification of parks will be done.”Mayor Jain said, “The shortlisted mohallas for special development plan include three with majority population belonging to the Schedule Castes. Three mohallas are dominated by the other backward castes and four with majority citizens belonging to the general category. Overall development of the 10 wards is targeted to be done within one year. A committee of councilors will determine the next 10 mohallas to be benefited under the scheme.”The 10 mohallas shortlisted in first phase are Kateek Para (Nunihai), Idgha Nagaria (Namner), Ajeet Nagar Gate (Arjun Nagar), Nagla Arhar (Tajganj), Shardha Vihar (Bodla), Devri Nagar (Nagla Padi), B-block sector 8 (Awas Vikas), Ram Swaroop colony (Azam Para, Shahganj), Khirki Kaley Khan (Moti Katra), Sindhi Colony (Ashok Nagar, Panchkuiyan).

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