Mangaluru: Beary Academy awards to be presented on April 16

April 14, 2016

Mangauru, Apr 14: The Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy will confer its Annual Honourary Awards for 2015 on three eminent personalities including one non-Indian resident and special awards on two other achievers this weekend.

In a press release issued here on Thursday Academy chairman BA Mohammed Haneef said that the awards would be presented in a ceremony on April 16 at 4:45 p.m. at Town Hall in the presence of Kannada and culture minister Umashree, district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai among others.

The names of award winners were announced in January this year. Abu Dhbai based philanthropist Mohammed Ali Uchil, Bengaluru-based Kannada journalist BM Haneef and artist Mohammed K Matha were for the Honourary Awards.

While Mr Uchil is being honoured for his contributions towards Beary culture and organisation, Mr. Haneef is being honoured in the field of language and literature and Mr. Matha in the field of art.

Apartment from them, Kannada writer Yaqoob Khader Gulwadi was chosen for Dr Wahhab Doddamane memorial award and Beary-Kannada writer Maryam Ismaeel was chosen P Sushila Upadhyaya memorial Beary woman award, he said.

Brief introduction of award winners:

Mohammed Ali Uchil
Born in a traditional Beary family on 1st June 1957, he rose to fame among NRIs in United Arab Emirates after becoming the president of Bearys Welfare Forum (BWF)-Abu Dhabi.

Apart from promoting Beary language, culture and tradition in the Gulf, BWF is well-known for its charity works in coastal Karnataka.

Anti-dowry campaign, mass wedding of around 85 couple in different occasions, distribution of wheel chair for physically challenged people, construction of toilets for the poor families, distribution of educational scholarships are some of the contributions of BWF under the leadership of Mr Uchil in coastal Karnataka.

BM Haneef

Bellayaru Mohammed Haneef was born on December 12, 1961 in coastal Karnataka. Obtained his B.Com degree from Govinda Dasa College, Surathkal and started his journalistic career through Mungaru Kannada daily when he was perusing LLB at SDM College in Mangaluru.

In 1989 he joined Prajavani Kannada daily as a sub-editor and worked for the same news paper as a reporter in different parts of Karnataka.

He was later promoted as assistant editor of Prajavani. For the past four years he has been working as the chief of Sudha Kannada weekly.

He is one of the popular Kannada journalists in Karnataka and known for his articles on current affairs, stories and poems. An advocate of Beary language promotion, he played a key role in the establishment of Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy.

Moammed K Matha

MK Matha is a popular name in Sandalwood. For past 16 years he has been working in Kannada film and television industry as a director, actor and story writer.

He has acted in Kannada, Tamil and Tulu movies. Bagged award for his role in Tulu film Gaggara.

Comments

Extremely delighted, a good job -Byari Acadamy
Congratulations to all winners,and to Mr Uchil,who is the one who is
Instrumental in shaping my life by the grace of Allah
May Allah bless him & his family

Masha Allah congratulations Mohd Ali Saab, you deserve it & more than this
Congrats to all award winners

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