Lucknow, Aug 27 (IANS) Eight railway stations in the Lucknow division of Northern Railways were officially renamed after saints and freedom fighters on Tuesday, officials said.

According to an order issued by the Northern Railways, Kasimpur Halt Railway Station will now be known as Jais City Railway Station, Jais as Guru Gorakhnath Dham, Misrauli as Maa Kalikan Dham, and Bani as Swami Paramhans.

Similarly, the name of Nihalgarh Railway Station was changed to Maharaja Bijli Pasi Railway Station, Akbarganj to Maa Ahorwa Bhawani Dham, Warisganj to Amar Shahid Bhale Sultan, and Fursatganj to Tapeshwarnath Dham.

The stations were renamed after a demand was made by former Amethi MP Smriti Irani to preserve the cultural identity and heritage of the place.

Irani made the announcement regarding the change of names on social media in March.

The Kasimpur Halt station was named after Kasimpur village which is quite far away. Therefore, Jais City was proposed as the new name, a senior railway official said.

As prominent Guru Gorakhnath Dham ashram is near the Jais station, it was proposed that the station be renamed after the ashram, he added.

The official said there are several temples of Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali near Mishrauli, Bani, Akbarganj and Fursatganj railway stations and they were renamed accordingly.

The Nihalgarh station is located in an area that has a sizeable population of Pasis who are mostly farmers. Hence, it was renamed after Maharaja Bijli Pasi, a king from the community, the official added.

Warisganj is known for the bravery of Bhale Sultan, who fought against the British in 1857, and the station was renamed after him, he said.

However, the renaming has sparked criticism from Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, who urged the BJP government to instead focus on improving the condition of railway stations and preventing train accidents.

Attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, Akhilesh said, "The BJP government is requested to also change the condition of railway stations along with the names."

"And when you are done with changing the names, think about preventing record-breaking rail accidents," he added.