Tiger cubs gets christened by Jayalalithaa

An avid animal lover, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today visited the famous Arignar Anna Zoological Park at nearby Vandalur and christened seven tiger cubs including white ones.

Arjuna and Athreya were the names given by the Chief Minister to two male white tiger, while two female cubs were named as Chitra and Cauvery by her during her maiden visit to the zoo.

Three tiger cubs were named as Nethra, Vidya and Aarthi by Jayalalithaa, who also went around some of the animal enclosures, including one housing abandoned elephants.

At the sprawling 602 acre zoological park, Jayalalithaa also visited other enclosures which house otter, two white tigers whom she had named Rama and Chandra two years back.

She also laid the foundation stone for over Rs 21 crore worth projects to be undertaken in the zoo premises, an official release said.

Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa granted administrative approval for a funding of Rs 359.70 crore towards construction of storage-cum-kitchens in over 14,000 schools as part of the nutritious meal scheme.

She also allocated Rs 19.17 crore towards providing free laptops to over 9300 rural nurses to enable them upload medical data regarding pregnancies, the release said.