The Centre on Friday notified the change of names for Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
Accordingly, Aurangabad will now be known as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' and Osmanabad shall be called 'Dharashiv', as per a Central notification.
This comes after the Maharashtra government wrote to the Centre on October 20, 2022, seeking the change of names that were cleared by the state cabinet.
While Osmanabad reverts to its ancient name of 'Dharashiv' after a group of caves near the town, Aurangabad will honour the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's son and successor - Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj - who ruled after his father for 8 years (1681-1689), till his death at 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 possible.