Thursday, March 10 2005 15:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Durban: The decision to rename Durban city's 'Point Road' after Mahatma Gandhi ran into controversy with people of Indian origin complaining that the street, notorious for prostitution and drugs, was not the right place and the South African authorities should have chosen a main street for the purpose.

Local leaders and people in general bombarded a local radio station catering to the Indian community against the Mahatma's name being used to replace Point Road, saying the authorities should have renamed one of the main streets.

They said Point Road was infamous for prostitution and drugs and the re-naming after Mahatma demonstrated that no respect was being shown to the father of Indian nation.

Ashwin Desai, a local activist and academic said, "Its high-time we changed the colonial and apartheid features of the city and I fully support the move. But I have a problem when Gandhi's name is used for the Point Road area. Gandhi practised as a lawyer in West Street and if anything I think the main street should have been named after Gandhi."

The leader of the Indian Minority Front Party, Amichand Rajbansi, who is a Minister in the Kwa Zulu-Natal Provincial Government, said that he was also opposed to Gandhi's name being used for the Point Road area.

"I think the city council had not given the re-naming of Point Road much thought. But I support leaders like Gandhi and Monty Naicker being honoured by the city in some way."

But reacting to the complaints, Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo said, "The re-naming of the nine streets have been done after a great deal of thought and research."

"Point Road was re-named after Mahatma Gandhi because it was in this area that the first Indians who came from India had set foot on South African soil and settled. I don't think people should see anything untoward in this re-naming," said Naidoo.

But Ela Gandhi, a granddaughter of the Mahatma and former Member of Parliament for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), was more cautious in her reaction. She said there was no cause for concern.

"Gandhi would have settled in Point Road to change people's immoral ways. My only concern is that he should have been given one of the more important roads, given his contribution to the non-violent movement in South Africa," she said.