CM promises to visit Kodagu after Class 8 boy Fateh’s video on Kodagu’s plight goes viral

News Network

July 14, 2018

Madikeri, Jul 14: Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has promised to visit rain-hit Kodagu soon as a schoolboy’s video highlighting the plight of farmers in the district went viral on social media.

“I will soon visit Kodagu district and take stock of the damage done by the incessant showers,” tweeted the CM after watching the video of Kalera Fateh, a Class 8 boy of Yemmemadu village in Kodagu.

In the video, Fateh took a dig at the CM for 'neglecting' Kodagu district in the budget. "Mysuru, Mandya and half of Tamil Nadu get water, if it rains in Kodagu district. But the unrelenting rain has destroyed coffee, pepper, areca and paddy crops. The wild elephant menace is on the rise in Kutta, Birunani, Balele and Ponnampete because of which daily wagers and agriculture farmers fear to venture out of their houses. The rain-battered Kodagu-Kerala road has become unmotorable."

He continued, "Kumaraswamy has meted out injustice to Kodagu by not sanctioning grants to Kodagu in the budget presented recently and added that the chief minister should treat all districts equally."

He urged the chief minister to restore 7 kg rice under Anna Bhagya scheme, as announced by his predecessor Siddaramaiah.

Whom should people approach to their get problems addressed? It is you (CM), who else, he said.

In the video, that is doing rounds on social media, the boy is seen telling BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa to impress upon Narendra Modi to announce compensation for the distressed farmers. Modiji is prime minister for 130 crore people of the country. He should treat people of all religions and castes on equal footing. This holds good for the chief minister too.

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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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