Bengaluru’s Kadugondanahalli Metro station on the underground Pink Line could be renamed Arabic College Metro station after Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and a local charitable trust separately urged authorities to adopt the area’s more recognisable local identity.
Khan has asked Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to approve the renaming through a memorandum. He said the proposal would reflect the geographical identity and local significance of the area through an appropriate station name.
The United Karnataka Charitable Trust, based in the Arabic College Post area, has also approached Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director P C Jaffer with the request. The trust argued that Arabic College is located directly opposite the station, while Kadugondanahalli is around a kilometre away. It said retaining the existing name could therefore create confusion for commuters trying to identify the station’s location.
Arabic College, formally known as Dar-ul-Uloom Sabeelur Rashad, is situated across from the station. The trust also pointed to existing transport and postal references that use Arabic College as the area identifier. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has a bus stop named Arabic College along the route, while the stretch between Pottery Town and Thanisandra is officially referred to as Arabic College Post.
The proposed change would affect a station on Bengaluru’s Pink Line, which is being developed as an underground corridor. The line is scheduled to open in March 2027. The station naming issue has emerged before the line becomes operational, when station signage, maps, announcements and passenger information systems would typically need to be finalised.
BMRCL has not taken a decision on the request. Jaffer said the corporation was not currently taking station-naming decisions for the underground Pink Line, adding that a suitable decision would be taken later.
The request places the station’s official name alongside the way residents, bus users and postal services already identify the surrounding locality. For commuters, the distinction is practical: a station named after a location immediately adjacent to it may provide a clearer point of reference than one named after a neighbourhood situated farther away.
The Pink Line’s scheduled March 2027 opening leaves the naming question pending with BMRCL and the state government. Any decision will determine whether the station opens under its current Kadugondanahalli name or adopts the proposed Arabic College identity.
