10 including 9 girls returning from job interview perish in road accident

Chitradurga, May 1: As many as 10 persons including nine girls returning from a job interview in Bengaluru, were killed after the multiutility vehicle they were travelling rammed a KSRTC?bus near Heggere in Challakere taluk in the early hours of Saturday.

According to police, all the nine girls were staying at BCM hostel in Siruguppa of Ballari district and had been to Bengaluru to attend interview at a private company. Pradeep, a computer teacher of Siruguppa, had led the girls for the interview. The accident o while they were returning to Siruguppa from Bengaluru.

The victims were travelling in a Land Cruiser which had 15 passengers.
The driver of the Cruiser, in his attempt to overtake a private bus, rammed the KSRTC bus coming in the opposite direction and veered to the left. A speeding bus which was coming right behind, hit the Cruiser, virtually crushing the passengers.

While 7 passengers were killed on the spot, one each succumbed to injuries at Challakere, Chitradurga and Davangere hospitals.

The deceased have been identified as Shanthi, Sarita, Bharathi, Shruthi, Jyothi (all 20 years), Sudha Harshita, Jayashree, Kavya (all 21) and Chandregowda, the driver of the Cruiser.

A seriously injured Pradeep is being treated at a hospital in Davangere. The other injured - Nagarathna, Renuka, Sunita and Huligemma - are being treated at district hospital in Chitradurga.

Additional Superintendent of Police K Parashuram and other senior police officers visited the spot. A case has been registered at Challakere police station.

Comments

really a tragic incident, god may give their family Strength to beat their loss.

Rest in Peace.

RIP. God may give their relatives to bear the pain of loss

RIP.. may God grant them heaven

I extend my deepest sympathies. May the departed Souls Rest in Peace.

really tragic, heartfelt condolence to family.

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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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