VVCMC Approves Proposal to Rename Nalasopara to Ancient Name Shurparak
The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has decided to submit a formal proposal to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking to restore the ancient name of Nalasopara to Shurparak. The civic body's standing committee discussed the renaming proposal on Monday, with most members present endorsing the initiative to honour the region's historical and cultural heritage.
Present-day Nalasopara, situated in the northern stretch of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is identified as the ancient port city and trading hub referred to as Supparaka in Prakrit sources. Local experts noted that the name Nalasopara was assigned to the local railway station during the British era as a combination of two neighbouring villages, Nala and Sopara, with Sopara being a corrupted form of the original name Shurparak.
Vasai-Virar Mayor Ajeev Patil stated that the region is deeply connected to India's past and rich in heritage. Patil explained that the name change would serve as a tribute to ancestors and instil pride within the local community by reconnecting residents with their roots, confirming that the civic body will now submit a formal proposal to the state government.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Patil urged the Chief Minister to pursue the matter with the Centre through the state administration. He advocated issuing a gazette notification to rename Nalasopara railway station as Shurparak railway station, renaming the legislative assembly constituency to Shurparak, and organising a joint Shurparak Awareness Campaign alongside the railway and tourism departments.
Offering another perspective, Anirudh Paul, a local resident and professor of architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies, noted that ships historically docked in the area from the Vaitarna and Vasai creeks. Paul observed that urbanisation has destroyed the ancient port, remarking that lost glory and heritage cannot be restored merely by changing the town's name.
Historians trace the settlement's trading history back more than two millennia, supported by descriptions in ancient scriptures. The text Shurparak Mahatmya defines the site as bounded by the Vaitarna River to the north, Vasai Creek to the south, the Sahyadri Mountains to the east, and the sea to the west. The location is also referenced in the Skanda Purana and the Mahabharata, and archaeologists have discovered Ashoka-era stupas and rock edicts in the area. Shurparak is additionally one of only two Maharashtra locations marked on the Bharatvarsha map inside the new Parliament building.
