Kanpur, Oct 25 : President of Merchant Chamber of Commerce, Uttar Pradesh, Abhishek Singhania, has written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urging him to change the name of Kanpur Dehat district to Greater Kanpur. He claimed this change will prove to be a milestone in view of the urban development in state. Singhania urged that being situated on the banks of Ganga, Kanpur has its own rich and glorious history and has for long enjoyed the status of being the 'Manchester of the East' due to its flourishing textile and other small and medium industries. "History is witness that the city moulded itself according to new standards and its name changed accordingly from Kanhapur to Kanpur. The city was established in 1803 and in 1891 it was divided into two districts Kanpur City and Kanpur Dehat," said Singhania. At present, Kanpur Dehat is linked with National highways numbers 14 and 27, while the country's busiest rail route, Delhi to Howrah, passes through the district. It also benefits from the Bundelkhand Expressway, he stated, adding that big industrial areas like Raniya, Jainpur, Derapur were growth centres and resources, hence the name did not to justice to it. In fact, it projects an image of backwardness. Singhania claimed that the word Greater denoted modernity and better infrastructure. He said, the renaming could boost the prestige and identity of that area as well as promote local development. /IANS