Entire coastal Karnataka to be declared open defecation-free on Oct 2

coastaldigest.com news network

September 24, 2017

Mangaluru, Sept 24: As many as 10 districts of Karnataka including coastal districts of Dakshina kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada will be formally declared defecation-free on October 2.

The other seven districts are Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkamagaluru, Gadag, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Mandya.

According to S G Nanjayyanamath, chairman of Karnataka State Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Committee, these districts have achieved credit of being open defecation-free districts in the State. Work is on to declare the remaining districts too.

Speaking to media persons Mr. Nanjayyanamath claimed that 1,836 gram panchayats in the State have been declared open-defecation free, and on Gandhi Jayanti, 8,482 more would be added to the list. He said preparation was on to declare at least 2 or 3 more districts open defecation-free on November 1 (Karnataka Rajyotsava Day).

With regard to setting up potable water supplying units, he said 8,400 such units have been set up across the State. The process would be completed by calling tender for installing 2,500 more units. He said 1,000 additional such units would be granted to localities dominated by Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes communities. The works of these units was under way and would be completed soon, he said.

Mr. Nanjayyanamath said Rs. 54 crore had been spent from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department for drinking water, development of roads in rural areas, and shed for cattle.

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Along with declaration, punishment should be some more strict

Never going to happen

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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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