Rush to name newborns after cyclone 'Titli' in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, Oct 13 : As people in coastal belt of Odisha battled 'Titli', several mothers have rushed to name their newborns after the cyclone that left behind a trail of destruction in the state.
Several families in Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh have named their newborn daughters as "Titli" because they were born either before the very severe cyclone's arrival in the coast or after it made landfall.
Twenty-year-old A Allemma of Paradip, who gave birth to twins at the sub divisional hospital at Chhatrapur at 6.05 and 6.12 am on Thursday, at the time of landfall of Titli at Palasa, wants to name the newborns 'Titli' which means butterfly in Hindi.
"I want to name my daughters as Titli, said Allemma, who delivered the first baby when the cyclonic storm was crossing Odisha coast.
Similarly, Bimla Das (29) of Plurugada, who also delivered a baby girl in the same hospital, wants to name her after the storm. The baby was born at around 7 am, said sub divisional medial officer, Chhatarpur, Kanhu Charan Patra.
Titli is Bimala's third child, he added.
In the community health centre (CHC) Aska, as many as nine babies were born between Wednesday night and 11 am of Thursday. All of them were girls.
"We have decided to name the babies which were delivered after Wednesday midnight as Titli, said Mohan Barik, the gynecology specialist of the hospital.
A baby was born to Gitanjali Gouda (20) of Kalasuta village at about 2.10 am, he said. The babys parents gladly accepted the proposal and named one of the babies as Titli he said.
At the CHC Hinjili, at least four babies were born since Wednesday evening.
Manjari Jena (21) who delivered a girl at CHC Polsara also wanted to name her daughter Titli. She delivered the girl at about 12.55 am, sources said.
Chief district medical officer (CDMO) Ganjam, Sadananda Mishra said they have admitted over 100 pregnant women in different hospitals in the district on Wednesday for safe delivery.
Of them, at least 64 have delivered during the night hour and Thursday morning.
Chief District Medical Officer *CDMO, Jagatsinghpur Ashok Pattnaik said: "I understand that the parents have named their new born daughters as Titli. It is a good name. Of the 18 women admitted ahead of cyclone, six have delivered babies."
This is not the first occasion when the people of Odisha have named children after a cyclone. During the super cyclone in 1999, where about 10,000 people were killed, the parents had named their babies after the name of the calamity.
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Karnataka tanks hold strong water storage: Minister Boseraju
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister N S Boseraju on Tuesday said that minor irrigation tanks across the state are holding good water storage levels, with the 3,788 tanks under the department’s jurisdiction providing life-sustaining water to a large agricultural command area of approximately 4,45,009 hectares.
In a statement, the Minister for Minor Irrigation, Boseraju, said that according to the latest data released by the department, a vast majority of the 3,788 minor irrigation tanks in the state have maintained good water levels.
Detailing the storage status, the report said that even in peak summer, 165 tanks are full.
Additionally, 1,355 tanks have retained more than 51 per cent capacity, 1,143 tanks have water levels up to 50 per cent, and 959 tanks are at roughly 30 per cent storage capacity.
District-wise, Davanagere leads the state in water storage, with 27 tanks remaining full even during summer. Chikkamagaluru follows closely with 46 full tanks, indicating strong water retention.
Other top-performing districts include Hassan, Tumakuru, and Kolar.
Boseraju, who also holds the portfolio of Science and Technology, said 1,184 tanks are being actively filled through 145 tank-filling lift irrigation projects under the Minor Irrigation Department.
He attributed the strong water retention to good monsoon rainfall and effective water management strategies of the government.
“It is encouraging to see such a substantial volume of water stored across our minor irrigation tanks by the end of March, remaining largely intact even as summer progresses. The fact that 1,355 tanks are nearly full and 165 tanks are brimming is a testament to the success of our tank-filling programmes and rejuvenation initiatives,” he said.
“By ensuring a continuous flow of water to these tanks through lift irrigation projects across departments, as well as supplying treated and surface water to the Bayaluseeme districts, we have taken proactive measures to prevent them from drying out during the summer,” the minister said.
According to him, these data points confirm that efforts to build a water-secure Karnataka are yielding strong results at the grassroots level.
“This water wealth preserved in our tanks will bring direct benefits to lakhs of farmers across the 4,45,009-hectare command area,” he added.
