Patna: Thousands of activists of an organisation called Hindu Putra Sangathan rode from Konhara Ghat to the Vaishali district collectorate on Tuesday to demand that the name of the district headquarters town, Hajipur, be changed to Haripur.

Local residents said that around 5,000 motorbikes carrying two "volunteers" each of the organisation with saffron gamchha (towel) tied on their heads covered the distance of over 1km to garner support for their demand.

No untoward incident was reported during the rally.

The demand to change the name of Hajipur, around 20km north of Patna, is the "voluntary" organisation's second campaign.

The Sangathan had earlier petitioned senior district officials to change the name of Shalimpur Kasim village in the district be changed to Shivpur.

The organisation has already put up a board at the village with Shivpur written on it, local sources said, though the district administration has taken no such decision.

"After Shivpur, it's now the turn of Hajipur," said Rajiv Maharshee, the Sangathan's "chief patron".

"Our organisation has already launched a campaign to garner the support of the people. Hajipur should be called Haripur as it is situated on the bank of the Narayani river," he added.

The Sangathan's "national convener" Shiv Kumar Singh explained: "It's the place of Hari Singh, the erstwhile maharaja of Mithila, so it should be called Haripur."

Rajiv said that Hajipur is named after a Mughal subedar, Hazi Illiyas Shamsuddin.

The members of the organisation described their campaign as " shuddhikaran" (purification) of names of towns and villages that derive their name from Mughal rulers.

"Their names remind people of the atrocities on the masses," Rajiv said.

He threatened to intensify the " shuddhikaran" campaign if the district administration didn't pay heed to the Sangathan's demand.

He also expressed hope that the agitation would bear fruit because the state is under NDA rule.

"Those at the help of affairs will certainly listen to our demand," said Rajiv.

Vaishali district magistrate Rachna Patil could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls.

A deputy collector said a delegation of the Sangathan had come to meet the district magistrate on Monday.

"They returned after submitting their memorandum containing their demands. The district magistrate has already been apprised of their demand," the officer said on condition of anonymity.