A newborn boy in Tajikistan has been named in honor of the Rogun Dam, under construction as part of efforts to end chronic electricity shortages in the impoverished Central Asian country.
A regional official said the boy was born on Wednesday in the northern Tajik region of Sogd. "At the suggestion of his grandfather, the father named the boy Rogunshoh" the official said.
The name means lord, or king, Rogun.
The Tajik government started selling shares in the project on Wednesday, and Rogunshoh's grandfather bought him two 1,000-somoni units of shares, worth about $460.
The first shares in Rogun were given to the family of a girl born shortly after midnight on Wednesday in the Yavan region, 40 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
The girl's parents, who received 5,000 somoni ($1,150) worth of shares, said they would name their daughter Sahmiya, which is Tajik for "share."
Construction of the Rogun Dam across the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan began in 1976 and has been restarted after a long break.
The Tajik government aims to sell more than $1 billion in shares and said about $92 million worth were bought on the first day. The shares are only available to Tajik citizens.
DUSHANBE, January 7 (RIA Novosti)
