Indian Express 19.04.2010
Deshmukh supporters vow to fight naming of lane after Birla
Hamari Jamatia Tags : roads, ndmc Posted: Monday , Apr 19, 2010 at 0243 hrs
New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) plans to inaugurate a lane near Max Mueller Road named after industrialist KK Birla on Monday.
The move, however, has not gone down well with a group which is demanding that the inauguration be halted. They also want the lane named after parliamentarian, freedom fighter and social worker Durgabai Deshmukh.
Their reasoning is that the Council for Social Development founded by Deshmukh has its headquarters on the lane.
United under the banner of Citizen’s Committee for Durgabai Deshmukh Vidhi, the group is planning to put a stay on the naming. They are trying to meet the Chief Justice of India to put forward their plea.
The issue came to the fore in October, when the NDMC proposed that the road from Lodhi Garden Gate No. 2, home to some of the most important buildings in Delhi — India International Centre Annexe, World Bank, UNICEF and UNDP — should have a name. The Council had received the names of Birla and Deshmukh.
After the meeting, the Council decided to incorporate both. The lane from Gate No. 2, Lodhi Garden to Max Muller Marg and extended to Maharishi Raman Marg through Lodhi Estate was to be named KK Birla Lane. The lane facing the World Wildlife Fund office starting Max Muller Marg running adjacent to India Islamic Centre till India International Centre Annexe entrance onto the proposed KK Birla Lane be named Dr (Smt) Durgabai Deshmukh Lane.
Members of Citizen’s Committee for Durgabai Deshmukh Vidhi say the lane to be dedicated to Deshmukh is small and insignificant and is mostly used as a garbage dump. “Durgabai is called the mother of social work in India. We do not understand why in the absence of any obvious connection with KK Birla, attempts are being made to name this particular lane after him,” said Suhas Borker, a member.
