Residents seek renaming of villages

Nitish Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Ambala, May 22

Residents of Landa and Landi villages have decided to pass a resolution in their respective panchayats for a change of names of their villages.

They said owing to the absurdity of the names, they felt embarrassed telling people where they were from.

Landa and Landi are two neighbouring villages. Landa village falls in Ambala, Landi village is in Shahabad.

Manjeet Singh, sarpanch, Landa village, said, “We feel awkward telling someone the name of our village as it is a little absurd. Women and young girls of the village think twice before telling the name of the village. Many a times they tell the name of Kesri village or some other adjoining locality of Shahabad as their village.”

Jaidev, a resident, said, “Villagers have been seeking a change in the name for a long time. After the state government changed Gurgaon to Gurugram, we are hopeful our plea will be heard too.”

Amrik Singh, sarpanch, Landi village, said, “The name of the village doesn’t sound good and youngsters hesitate in telling people where they are from. The residents have also held a couple of meetings in this regard.”

“People make fun of the name of our village. Though we have not decided upon the names yet, we want them to remain akin as they are at present,” he said.

District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) Renu Jain said, “The names can be changed but it is a lengthy procedure. First, they have to pass a resolution and then it will go through an administrative channel. They also have to give a justification why they want to change the name. It will be checked if there is any history related to the village following which the name of the village was kept.”