The decision to rechristen Faizabad district as Ayodhya has not gone down well with many of its residents, who believe it is an "unnecessary step" taken for "political" reasons and will eventually "erase the identity" of the historical town.
Another section, however, welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government's move, saying it endorses the legacy of ancient Ayodhya and will enhance its "glory".
P K Maurya, a 74-year-old Ayurvedic doctor, gets visibly upset when asked about the renaming move.
"What was the need for it? It was unnecessary and done with politics in mind. It is the common man who will suffer due to confusion now," he told PTI.
Maurya runs a dispensary in a run-down colonial-era building near the 19th century 'Ghanta Ghar' (Clock Tower), with an old board on its facade displaying the address as "Chowk-Faizabad" in Hindi.
Many other shops and commercial establishments in the area carry boards with district name labelled as 'Zilla Faizabad'.
"I won't change the label of Faizabad on the display board, people have known my dispensary location for decades. I don't want people to get mixed up," said Maurya, a third-generation Ayurvedic doctor in his family.
Faizabad city is located about 7 km from its twin town Ayodhya and has a major railway junction.
Close on the heels of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on November 6 announced that Faizabad district would henceforth be known as Ayodhya district.
"Ayodhya is a symbol of our 'aan, baan aur shaan' (honour, pride and prestige)," he said in the pilgrim town, about 120 km from state capital Lucknow.
Yogi's announcement at a pre-Diwali 'Deepotsav' event in Ayodhya's Ram Katha Park drew loud cheer, amid a growing chorus in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar for the construction of Ram temple at the Ramjanmabhoomi.
Deepak Pandey, 18, who attended the 'Deepotsav' event, said, "I am happy the district's name has been changed. It was needed."
Manzar Mehdi, historian and editor of a Faizabad-based bilingual publication, said, "Faizabad was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh and saw a period of glory and has a rich architectural and literary heritage."
Siva Kumar, who operates an e-rickshaw between Ayodhya and Faizabad towns, wondered if like Mughalsarai, the Faizabad station would also be renamed. "If they do rename it, there will be two Ayodhya stations, it will confuse people."
Anil Arya, who runs a shop in the arcade underneath the iconic Clock Tower, said, "I am happy and sad. I like both the places. They could have made Ayodhya into a district itself instead of renaming old Faizabad."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content