On Thursday, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government has approved a proposal to rename Mumbai Central station as "Nana Shankarsheth Mumbai Central Railway Station".
After receiving approval from the Maharashtra government, the proposal to rename the station will now be sent to the Railway Ministry. Jagannath "Nana" Shankarsheth (1803-1865) was a Maharashtrian philanthropist and educationist famous for his contribution to Mumbai's development. Seth is also known for his contribution towards the Victoria Terminus station, now known as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
In 2017, Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant in Lok Sabha had demanded that the Mumbai Central railway station should be renamed after Jagannath Shankar Seth for his contribution to the city and the growth of railways in its pioneering years.
Apart from Mumbai Central, Sawant also demanded Charni Road station be renamed as Girgaum, Elphinstone Road as Prabhadevi, Curry Road as Lalbaug and Sandhurst Road as Dongri.
Shankar Sheth also had made a major contribution towards the development of Mumbai. He was one of the founders of the School Society and the Native School of Bombay. He had contributed funds when Students’ Literary and Scientific Society first opened their girls’ schools, despite facing stiff opposition from few members of the Hindu community.
