Hold Kambala as per govt order:?HC

Bengaluru, Mar 3: The High Court on Wednesday held that Kambala could be held subject to conditions mentioned in the notification issued by the State government on December 17, 2015.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice Ravi Malimath said Kambala organisers have to strictly follow conditions on safety measures. The bench also allowed an impleading application filed by Kambala organisers who had sought directions to hold the event as per the notification.

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India had moved the Court seeking to quash the notification dated December 17, 2015 issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries.

It had contended that the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) recorded 65 complaints of non-cognisable offence during three Kambala events held between December 2014 and January 2015. Gross cruelty towards animals was amply clear in all three events, the petitioner had contended.

The petitioner said the committee constituted by the State had submitted a report on the basis of inspecting only one Kambala event and ignored cruel practices which were pointed out by AWBI. The committee comprising of three doctors was not competent to arrive at a finding regarding cruelty to animals.

The petition says that despite numerous representations of the State government and letters of the AWBI, Kambala events continue to be held in the State in clear contravention of law and the orders of the Supreme Court. The bench adjourned the matter for two weeks to file amended petition.

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nobody cant stop kambala, its our nature festival.

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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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