India's first biobus launched

Bengaluru, Jul 5: The KSRTC on Monday introduced the country's first biobus which runs on 100% biodiesel. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy flagged off the biobus, which operates between Bengaluru and Chennai.

Buoyed by the positive response it received in the pilot project in 2015, during which the KSRTC ran 10 biobuses on 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel, the transport utility decided to introduce a biobus which runs completely on biodiesel. In an effort to reduce emissions and release of greenhouse gases by state-owned buses and to enhance revenue to the state exchequer, the transport utility is keen to run more buses on biodiesel. A litre of biodiesel is cheaper by Rs 5 than regular diesel.

The four state-run transport corporations - KSRTC, BMTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC consume close to 5.43 lakh kilolitres of diesel a year. KSRTC alone consumes around 2.1 lakh kilolitres.

The KSRTC also launched digital breath analysers to test for drunken driving by its drivers. The drivers have to mandatorily undergo breath-analyser test at the depots before the buses are handed over to them.

Comments

Firstly :
Improve the road safety and avoid the avoidable accidents causing by irresponsible driving.

Then go for bio, trio, tetra fuel...

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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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