The area names of the stations on the extended stretch mentioned alongside the formal names on the fare chart at Kavi Nazrul (Garia Bazar) station. (Pradip Sanyal)

The area name of Kavi Nazrul station written in English and Bengali at the station

Metro Railway stations named after personalities now also have the names of the respective areas displayed, the move aimed at setting right an anomaly instituted during Mamata Banerjee’s latest stint as railway minister.

The names of the localities are also being flashed on the electronic display boards of air-conditioned rakes and on the fare charts at stations.

The move followed a directive from junior railway minister Adhir Chowdhury, Mamata’s bête noire in state politics. Chowdhury joined the ministry after Mamata had withdrawn support to the UPA government.

The seven stations named after personalities now have the names of the local areas mentioned in English, Bengali and Hindi on separate boards on the platforms. The stations — all on the extended stretch — are Kavi Subhash (New Garia), Shahid Khudiram (Briji), Kavi Nazrul (Garia Bazar), Geetanjali (Naktala), Masterda Surya Sen (Bansdroni), Netaji (Kudghat) and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar (Tollygunge).

“I was receiving a lot of complaints from commuters about the confusion the names of the stations were creating. People were sending me emails, too. So I asked Metro officials to display the names of the respective areas,” Chowdhury told Metro on Thursday.

“Naming stations after famous persons isn’t the proper way to pay them respect. It only inconveniences passengers, especially those who are not regular commuters or have come from outside,” the minister added.

The Metro authorities said they had spent Rs 1.5 lakh to carry out the minister’s directive. “The entire process took a fortnight. It was completed last week,” said an official.

Passengers said they were happy with the change.

Ranjit Kumar Ghosh, a Barasat resident who works in a private bank, was coming to Garia to meet a relative in December. “I am not a regular commuter and was at a loss while booking a ticket at Dum Dum station. Fortunately, the friendly employee at the counter came to my rescue,” said Ghosh, who was not alone in facing the problem.

But commuters aren’t the only ones benefiting from the move. Metro employees, too, are happy.

An official at Kavi Nazrul station, where around 12,000 passengers buy tokens everyday, said: “Often commuters could not tell the exact names of stations and the counter staff had to suggest two or three names before one could finally buy a ticket. The delay resulted in longer queues during peak hours,” he said.

The chaos would become unmanageable during holiday seasons when many of the commuters are not regulars.

According to officials, of the 6.24-lakh passengers using the city’s fastest mode of transport daily, at least 30 per cent take Metro once in a while.

There is also an embarrassing — even comical — side to naming stations after famous persons. “It’s difficult to suppress laughter when people ask for one Shahid Khudiram or two Netaji,” said an official at Dum Dum station.

The authorities started announcing the area names through the trains’ public address system after Metro ran a campaign highlighting problems commuters were facing after Mamata as railway minister had gone on a naming and re-naming spree.