Central Asian neighbor Kyrgyzstan's third largest city, Jalal-Abad, is renamed Manas
Kazakh International News Agency report: According to an italicized website, the city of Jalal-Abad in Kyrgyzstan will be renamed "Manas".
The news states that the Kyrgyzstan parliament's committee on constitutional legislation, state structure, judicial issues, and procedures has approved a special bill to rename the city of Jalal-Abad to "Manas".
This renaming is expected to cost 15 million soms (approximately 171,500 US dollars). The proposal was put forward by the mayor of Jalal-Abad, Ernurbek Olimov. He said that the name change will help improve the city's image and attract more investment.
"Jalal-Abad is one of the ancient cities with a long history. The current name comes from a legend that Jalaladin once used water and soil from the Shorbulak spring to heal people, hence the name. 'Manas' is a name that represents our great history, and I think it doesn't need much explanation," Olimov said.
Felix Kulov, former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, commented on this, suggesting that Jalal-Abad (Manas) be given a special status and some national institutions be relocated to the city.
"It can be considered to grant the city the status of 'administrative capital', first moving the parliament there. In addition, some ministries, departments, and large state-owned enterprises can also be moved to the south to alleviate the burden on Bishkek," Kulov said.
Jalal-Abad is the third largest city in Kyrgyzstan and the capital of Jalal-Abad region, with a population of about 185,000.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1842843740230793/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.