Twenty-six days after Mangalore was renamed Mangaluru, Mangaloreans appear yet to embrace Mangaluru, going by the name boards of government and private establishments.
The Mangalore City Corporation (MCC), the caretaker of the city, stands out first among them with the name board at its headquarters still retaining the old name. Though the name is correctly spelt Mangaluru in Kannada, the English version is yet to see the change.
Name boards of many government organisations, including the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Railways, the Mangalore International Airport, Corporation Bank’s head office and many more, are yet to change.
Similarly, names of a few Mangaluru-based organisations including the New Mangalore Port Trust, the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd., the Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, too have not been changed.
Name boards of almost all shops and establishments in the city too continue to carry the old name.
Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim told The Hindu that he had issued directions to government departments as well as private establishments to change the name from Mangalore to Mangaluru albeit without any deadline.
“The move should not result in any unnecessary expenditure for anyone,” he said, adding that Mangaluru was rather in the hearts of people.
NotificationMeanwhile, the Railways and the NMPT maintained that they were yet to receive the notification or direction either from the State government or from the Ministries concerned asking them to rename the Railway Stations/entity. NMPT Chairman P.C. Parida said the Trust had no problem with the renaming, but it was yet to get any communication from the government.
Having been instrumental in renaming the Madras Port Trust as Chennai Port Trust, Mr. Parida said the process of renaming the port could take up to a year since it involved change of records across ports in the world.
Southern Railway’s Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Anand Prakash also said he had not yet received any notification. The Mangalore International Airport had initiated the process of renaming and had sent the required proposal to the Airports Authority of India, said Airport Director J.T. Radhakrishna. The change could come in about a month, he added.