The mayor’s office of Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon Province, proposes to rename the city.
The mayor’s office proposes to rename Qurghon Teppa Bokhtar and the city of Sarband (formerly Kalininabad) Levakand, an official source at Tajikistan’s upper house (Majlisi Milli) of parliament told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Meanwhile, Khatlon authorities propose to rename Bokhtar District Kushoniyon District.
If the government supports these proposals, they will be submitted for consideration to the parliament, the source said.
Qurghon Teppa is a city in southwestern Tajikistan. It is the administrative center of Khatlon Province and it is located 100 kilometers to the south of Dushanbe. It is estimated that the population of the city is close to 102,000 people, making it the third-largest city in the country. The population fluctuates depending on season (due to Tajik migrant workers in Russia). Qurghon Teppa is the main city of south Tajikistan. Qurghon Teppa is a regional hub (one of the top four), especially for banking and telecommunications industries.
Recall, President Rahmon’s brother-in-law (wife's brother), Amirullo Asadullo was relieved of his post of Mayor of Qurghon Teppa on May 30 in connection with transfer to other job. Asadullo had served as Mayor of Qurghon Teppa since February 21, 2014.
Abduallim Ismoilzoda, formerly Head of Shahritous District in Khatlon Province, was appointed acting Mayor of Qurghon Teppa.
Having purged Tajikistan of most Russian and Soviet labels, the Tajik authorities have begun targeting places with names of Turkic origin.
Some had their former Persian names restored, some were named after historic Tajik figures, and others were given new Tajik names.
The city of Qairoqqum, an Uzbek name, for example, was renamed Guliston, or City of Flowers. An artificial lake by the same name was simply called the Tajik Sea.
The district of Ghonchi, a name with Turkic roots, was named after Devashtich, a Sogdian ruler of the modern-day Tajik city of Panjakent in pre-Islamic Central Asia.
Jirgatol district in the Rasht Valley had its old, Turkic-rooted name, Lakhsh, restored. Jillikul district in Khatlon province had its Kyrgyz name replaced with Dousti, which means friendship in Tajik.
It's not just Turkic place-names that are being targeted.
The city of Chkalovsk was renamed “Buston,” meaning “Blooming Garden.”
The authorities also changed the district of Tavildara’s Arabic-sounding name to its historical name, Sangvor.
