The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor’s (L-G) administration on August 13 dropped the title ‘Sher’ (lion), a reference to the late National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, from the name of the convention centre located on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar, possibly indicating a change in its name.
Until Saturday, official communications referred to the ‘Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre’ (SKICC), which on August 13 was termed ‘Kashmir International Convention Centre’ (KICC).
In a statement pertaining to an official function where L-G Manoj Sinha flagged off the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Srinagar, the official communiqué mentioned KICC several times. The rally was planned from the convention centre up to the Botanical Garden here.
The L-G administration first indicated the intention to change the name of the convention centre in 2020. However, a formal order has not been issued till date.
The convention centre was built in 1977 by renowned architect Joseph Stein. It was named Sher-i-Kashmir (‘Lion of Kashmir’) after the title used for Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, a towering figure in the erstwhile State’s politics.
Since the Union government ended Jammu & Kashmir’s special constitutional position in 2019, the L-G administration first dropped Mr. Abdullah’s name from the State Police awards. A holiday on Abdullah’s birth anniversary was also removed from the official calendar.
