BJP MLAs in Karnataka disrupt Guv's address in legislature

Agencies

February 6, 2019

Bengaluru, Feb 6: Opposition BJP in Karnataka on Wednesday disrupted Governor Vajubhai Vala's address to the joint sitting of the state legislature here.

This is the first session after the cabinet expansion in December and political turmoil that engulfed the state following the alleged attempt by the BJP to topple the government by poaching disgruntled legislators of the ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition.

As soon as the governor started his customary address to the joint sitting, BJP members entered the Well of the House, asking him not to deliver the address.

"You are made to read lies, so please don't read it," BJP members said.

However, Vala continued with his speech, even as BJP members intensified their sloganeering.

"We don't want a bundle of lies to be read. Down... the government that has lost majority and trust," they shouted.

As the BJP's protest intensified, the governor said he is concluding his address, and it should be deemed as read. Vala read out the last paragraph of his speech.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present his coalition governments second budget on February 8.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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