Vishwavidyalaya Metro station gets a new name, students not pleased

Many Delhi University students, some of whom are regulars at the station, are upset with the change. Angry posts on social media have been dominating students’ timelines since Thursday, with many questioning the “takeover” of public spaces. “How brazenly the name of our very own metro station, ‘Vishwavidyalaya’, has been changed to ‘Honda Two Wheelers Vishwavidyalaya’?… Who gave them right to take over our spaces?” said Kawalpreet Kaur, a student at the Law Faculty.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) first came up with the plan to “rebrand” stations for a fee after auctions in 2014. Several stations, including the ONCG Shivaji Stadium station, Apollo Jasola station, and Wave Noida City Centre station. have undergone rebranding.

Some, however, justified the move. Suyash Verma, a student said, “The only alternative to this is a sharp increase in Metro fares which have been kept constant from many years. Are we ready for that?”

DMRC sources said roughly 10 metro stations have been rebranded with names of private companies, though the names of stations remain unchanged on paper and official maps. “This is part of our property development policy. We need to generate revenue through advertisements,” said a DMRC spokesperson. However, Metro officials did not disclose how much revenue was earned from the rebranding since the policy was implemented.