Police not given free hand in Dakshina Kannada, says Yeddyurappa

coastaldigest.com news network

July 14, 2017

Udupi, Jul 14: The reason for the failure of police in controlling the situation in Dakshina Kannada is the interference of ruling Congress, according to BJP leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Speaking at a public meeting organised by the district unit of the BJP against the attacks on activists of saffron groups, here, he said that the police were working under tremendous pressure from the State government.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had in a meeting of top-level police officers in Bengaluru reportedly questioned the large crowds during the funeral procession of Sharath Madivala, an RSS activist, who was murdered at BC Road on July 4.

Mr. Siddaramaiah had berated the police officers in the meeting and had directed his advisor, Kempaiah, to take direct charge of the coastal districts.

“Does it mean that the Chief Minister has no confidence in his police officers?” he questioned.

He said that the death of RSS activist Sharath Madivala was deliberately announced 20 hours late and, as a result, his father, Taniya could not donate the former’s eyes.

As many as 24 persons belonging to the Hindutva groups had died in the last four years. But the government had not taken any action in the matter, he said.

Though it was nine days since the death of Sharath, the police were yet to trace his assailants.

Though there were prohibitory orders in force in Dakshina Kannada for over a week, the situation was showing no signs of returning to a normality, he said.

While the government was dealing with the Hindu groups firmly, it was treating both the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) and Popular Front of India (PFI) with kid gloves. Both these organisations should be banned, he said.

V. Sunil Kumar, Karkala MLA, said that since the government was not protecting the Hindus, the people of the Hindu community should start arming themselves with weapons during this “Ayudha Puja” festival.

Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, Raghupati Bhat, Udaykumar Shetty, T.V. Hegde, Sheela K. Shetty, Shyamala Kundar, BJP leaders, were present.

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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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