Mangaluru: With the recent renaming of Ramanagara as Bengaluru South and growing calls to rename Tumakuru as Bengaluru North, a similar push is now underway in coastal Karnataka.

The Dakshina Kannada district administration is preparing to submit a proposal to the Karnataka government to rename the district as Mangaluru, The New Indian Express quoted Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan as saying.

The decision to put forth a proposal was initiated during the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting, after Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja urged the administration to pass a resolution in favour of the name change. MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta and other stakeholders backed the suggestion, with officials reportedly stating that the proposal would be forwarded to the government shortly.

Supporters of the move argue that “Dakshina Kannada” lacks recognition beyond the state, while “Mangaluru” enjoys wider visibility as a centre for education, healthcare, banking, and industry, both nationally and internationally.

Meanwhile, Dayanand Kathalsar, of the Mangaluru District Tulu Movement Committee and former chairman of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, also demanded the renaming. "Though we are freed from the rule of the Portuguese and the British, names like 'South Canara' or the Dakshina Kannada given during their period are still used, which need to be changed," TNIE quoted him as saying.

KPCC general secretary Rakshit Shivaram also voiced support for the renaming. Drawing parallels to the "Brand Bengaluru" initiative launched during S.M. Krishna’s tenure as chief minister, he said a similar push is needed for "Brand Mangaluru." He stated that they will soon meet the chief minister, deputy chief minister, home minister, and district in-charge minister to submit a memorandum.

“The present name is 'Dakshina Kannada' but we are not in the southern part of the state, instead we are in the Western part of the state. The highways, airport, port and the railway stations here are named after Mangaluru, hence, the district should also get the same name," he added.

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Tokyo (PTI): A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert in the region.

The quake, registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.4, occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 pm (0753 GMT), at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6 miles) below the sea surface, the agency said.

Japan's NHK public television said a tsunami of up to 3 metres (10 feet) could hit the area shortly.