Changing face of politics in DK

May 10, 2013

Mangalore, May 10: It was 1983 and the entire state was up against the Congress. Even in Dakshina Kannada district the voters were seeking change and as expected in all the constituencies of the DK the parties like the BJP, Janata Party and CPM managed to win shunning the Congress out completely.

Mangalore constituency elected Dhananjay Kumar, K Ram Bhat won in Puttur, N Shivaram won from Bantwal, Vasanth Bangera won from Belthangady, Bakila hukrappa won from Sullia, Rkmaiah Poojary won from Vittal and Amarnath Shetty won from Moodabidri in 1983 along with Lokaiah Shetty on surathkal and P Ramachandra Rao in Ullal.

Again in 1994, the similar kind of anti-Congress wave had taken over the state. Babri Masjid was demolished and naturally the Muslims had nurtured a sense of hatred against the Congress. Meanwhile, the BJP had emotionally swayed the voters and was trying its level best to translate those emotions into votes. Finally it did succeed in doing so.

This time, Yogish Bhat won in Mangalore, Kumble Sundar Rao won in Surathkal, K Jayaram Shetty won in ullal, D V SAdananda GOwda won in Puttur and Angara won in Sullia.

Over the last 19 years, the BJP has been showing its supremacy in most of the regions in DK district. It has been registering victory in parliamentary constituencies too and it would not be wrong to tag DK district as a laboratory of the BJP. From time to time, the saffron organizations have been holding Hindu Samajothsava with an intention to either win the hearts of the Hindus or to exhibit their might. All this and more had created a belief that defeating the BJP in DK district is near to impossible.

However, the plates have turned and in 2013 election, the BJP was all set to take the beating and enlightened voters have shown how easily a party like BJP with such a strong hold could be overthrown. The Congress did not just retain its four position won during 2008 polls, but added three more to its basket with Mangalore South, Mangalore North and Puttur. What is important is the fact that the Congress managed to sweep the BJP votes too.

All in all the Congress won in seven out of eight Assembly constituencies on the district and the BJP had to be happy with just one seat by retaining Sullia constituency, which has been in its hands for the last four decades, with a very narrow margin though.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments