PRAYAGRAJ: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday announced that Kasari-Masari, once regarded as a stronghold of slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed, would be renamed Shrikrishnapuri and developed accordingly.Adityanath made the announcement after performing the ‘bhoomi pujan’ for Padma Lok Apartment, a multi-storey housing project being developed by the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) in the Kasari-Masari area.The land where the project is coming up had been encroached upon by Ahmed, who was killed in 2023.“Mafia Atiq Ahmed terror’s stronghold Kasari-Masari to be developed as ‘Shrikrishnapuri’,” Adityanath said.PDA Secretary Vineet Kumar Singh said the project would cover 9,811 square metres and include a 14-storey building with 602 flats.Each flat will have two bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen (2BHK), spread across an area of 56.45 square metres.The residential complex will also have a rainwater harvesting unit, a solar power system, a swimming pool, a community hall and a commercial complex.The PDA had chosen the flat beneficiaries through a lottery in April 2025.Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were killed by three men posing as journalists during a media interaction on the night of April 15, 2023. Police personnel were escorting the brothers for a court-mandated medical check-up at the time.(With inputs from PTI)
