MCG renames Vatika Chowk to Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk

Gurugram: Continuing with its trend of renaming important junctions and stretches in the city, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has now officially changed the name of Vatika Chowk on Sohna Road to Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk.

The MCG on Saturday morning erected an official board reading “Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk” at the junction, and also removed boards with the name “Vatika Chowk” around there, said the officials. During a meeting in December last year, the five-member road naming and renaming committee (RNRC) of the MCG unanimously approved the move to rename Vatika Chowk and four other stretches in the city. However, it remained only on paper for the past six months, and was finally implemented on Saturday.

“Following the MCG’s approval to rename Hero Honda Chowk to Eklavya Chowk and 12 other junctions and stretches during a House meeting in April, pending official renaming of more stretches and junctions in the city was brought up. This prompted the MCG to make the renaming of these junctions and stretches official at the earliest,” said a senior MCG official privy to the matter, requesting anonymity.

According to the MCG officials, the junction got its former name in the early 2000s from a real estate project nearby. Vatika Chowk is one of the most important and busiest junctions in the city, and traffic from major roads converge at this spot from all four sides.

Traffic from the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway at Rajiv Chowk heads towards the junction via Subhash Chowk; traffic from Manesar and new sectors (69-77) heads towards the junction via Southern Peripheral Road (SPR); traffic from Golf Course Road, Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, and Golf Course Extension Road (GCER) meet at the junction via GCER; and traffic from Alwar and Sohna also head towards the junction via Sohna Road and National Highway 248A.

“The committee observed that many stretches and junctions in the city had the same name, and also key landmarks such as bhawans, community centres, and parks — which was confusing to the people. Hence, we decided to rename several stretches and junctions, including Vatika Chowk, after freedom fighters, mythological characters and famous personalities relevant to the area,” said Rama Rathee, MCG councillor of ward 34 and a member of the committee.

There is also a junction named Vatika Chowk in Manesar on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway.

Mahesh Dayma, MCG councillor of ward 30 and head of the committee, could not be reached for comment.

“Vatika Chowk is an iconic landmark in the city, and is recognised by this name by thousands of residents of Gurugram and Delhi-NCR (national capital region). Renaming it will only lead to confusion among the people, and may also cause unnecessary delays and complications with the navigation,” said Jyoti Ahuja, a resident of Vatika City.

Sewa Ram, an urban transport systems’ design expert and a faculty member of School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi, said that “renaming junctions and stretches will only cause short-term confusion, and the residents will get accustomed to it soon”. “Changing names of junctions to important figures help residents learn more about historical and important events related to that place, which was the case when the name of Ansal Chowk in Palam Vihar was renamed Rezang La Chowk — after the historic battle in the India-China war in 1962,” said Ram.