On November 13, 2018, the Uttar Pradesh government presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved renaming of Faizabad and Allahabad divisions as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively.
i. Prayagraj division will comprise Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh districts, while Ayodhya division will include Ayodhya, Ambedkarnagar, Sultanpur, Amethi and Barabanki districts.
ii. Earlier, the government renamed the Mughalsarai Railway station, another historic spot, as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya junction.
iii. Furthermore, in August 2018, the UP government had sent a request to the Centre to rename the airports in Agra, Bareilly and Kanpur.
Background:
The Centre has given consent to the renaming of at least 25 towns and villages across India in the past 1 year.
Uttar Pradesh:
♦ Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath.
♦ Governor: Ram Naik.
♦ National Parks: Dudhwa National Park, Philibit Tiger Reserve , Sandi Bird Sanctuary.
♦ Uttar Pradesh has 23 wildlife sanctuaries across 27 districts covering over 5,000 sq km.