Hyderabad Airport To Get A New Identity

There is a famous quote by William Shakespeare which says, “What’s in a name?” Well if he only existed till date to justify his stance. As, the recent decision to rename the domestic terminal at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad after N T Rama Rao, the founder of Telugu Desam Party, has created much of a furore among the masses .

As soon as the news came to light that the Centre has decided to name the domestic terminal of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RJAI) after former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao, there seems to be murmurs among the locals of the city.

As per a report published in The Hindu Businessline, leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Congress strongly opposed the decision. Flaying the move, Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhara Rao, wondered why the Union Government chose to name it after an Andhra leader. “The Government can consider the names of Adivasi leader Komuram Bheem or Telangana Armed Struggle veteran Chakali Ilamma,” he said.

The report further stated that the Centre had on Thursday decided to name the domestic terminal on late NTR. While shifting the international airport to Shamshabad, the then Congress Government named it after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (the international terminal was named after him at the Begumpet airport) but chose not to name the domestic terminal. This had attracted criticism from the Telugu Desam Party.

Obviously what the locals want is a local Telangana leader’s name to be decided for naming the airport. However, latest reports indicate that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has welcomed the Central government’s decision to rename the domestic terminal at Shamshabad airport as NT Rama Rao domestic terminal.

Well whatever be the outcome of the prevailing discussions, it seems that change is inevitable now and is on the cards for sure.