Udupi: Villagers stage protest demanding underpass at Ambalpady Junction

March 4, 2016

Udupi, Mar 3: The people of Kidiyoor, Kadekar and Ambalpady villages, who have come together under the banner of Rashtriya Heddari Ambalpady Raste Balakedara Hitarakshana Samiti, staged a protest demanding an underpass on National Highway 66 at Ambalpady Junction here on Thursday.

Addressing the protestors, P. Sripati Tantri, convener of the samiti, said that many parts of the Surathkal-Kundapur National Highway 66 had been widened into four-lane. As a result, there was massive movement of vehicles on National Highway 66. Hence, it has become difficult for both vehicles and pedestrians from the villages of Kidiyoor, Kadekar and Ambalpady to reach Udupi via Ambalpady Junction.

As per the original plan of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an underpass was to have been built at the Ambalpady Junction. But this plan was given up at the insistence of K. Jayaprakash Hegde, former MP, who, in a letter to the then Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Oscar Fernandes in February 2012, sought a foot-overbridge instead of an underpass.

Hence, the proposal for the underpass was dropped without consulting the residents of the area. This meant that the vehicles would have to travel nearly six kilometres more to enter Udupi, which was just about 500 metres away via Ambalpady Junction. This move was not just unscientific but also anti-people.

The samiti had written to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. The Prime Minister's Office had acknowledged the receipt of the letter. “We hope the Centre will sanction an underpass here,” Prof. Tantri said.

B.R. Shetty, Abu Dhabi-based businessman and former vice-president of Udupi Town Municipal Council, said that an underpass at Ambalpady Junction was essential as a lot of farm workers, labourers and many students went from these three villages to Udupi.

Since there was heavy vehicular movement on the National Highway, an underpass was essential. He too had written to Mr. Modi and Mr. Gadkari seeking an underpass there, he said.

Sugunendra Tirtha Swami of Puttige Mutt said that an underpass was essential not just at Ambalpady Junction but also at Katapadi village. The high density of vehicles made an underpass an absolute necessity. He said that he too used the National Highway 66, hence he was participating in the protest, he said.

Altaf Ahmed and Shantharaj Aithal, office-bearers of the samiti, and N.B. Vijay Ballal, managing trustee of Ambalpady Temples, were present.

Comments

It is very pertinent to state here, this under pass very essential as it connect to the many villages through this National Highway at Ambalapady junction. I am surprised why former MP Jayaprakash Hegde asked for the foot bridge thereby cancelling the underpass? He must clarify this matter to the public.

The committee must not make any politics in this matter, the underpass demand for all people that must be kept in mind.

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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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