WR seeks correct Marathi spelling of Bandra, Churchgate

Mumbai: The Western Railway (WR) wants to know how all the stations in its jurisdiction, including prominent stations like Bandra and Churchgate, are spelled in Marathi, so that the same can be written on the stations. WR officials have written to the district collectors concerned to get the correct Marathi names. Officials said they have asked the collectors to check revenue records and make sure about the spelling so that the name is not misspelled and a controversy is avoided.

The exercise is being undertaken by the WR as it is going to change the station boards from square to oval as they were deemed to be harmful to the physically and mentally challenged. Officials said that according to railway rules, the names of the stations should be in English, Hindi and the regional language. An official said, “Sometimes one platform might have the Marathi name of the station but this might not be so on another platform in the same station.”

The WR felt that as the signboards are to be done away with, the new signboards should have the precise spelling of the respective stations in Marathi. The official further added, “Both Marathi and Hindi have matras (cadence) and intricacies that we might not be aware of. As a result, we have decided to ask the collectors to tell us the spellings by looking at the revenue records.”

The letters have been sent to all district collectors under whose jurisdiction the 36 stations, all the way to Dahanu, fall. Stations like Bandra are called Vandre in Marathi, while Vile Parle is called Parel.

WR chief public relations officer Ravindra Bhakar said, “Yes, these letters have been sent to the collectors and is a part of our exercise to change the station boards from square to oval.”

The WR had witnessed controversy after the Oshiwara station, which was tentatively called Oshiwara, was changed to Ram Mandir after political parties insisted that the identity of the area is derived from a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Ram.