111-year-old Shivakumara Swamiji hospitalised

News Network

December 2, 2018

Bengaluru, Dec 2: Dr Sri Shivakumara Swami, the head seer of Siddaganga Mutt and the most revered Lingayat figure, was admitted to BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals yesterday after he developed fever because of an infection and obstruction in the liver tube.

The 111-year-old religious stalwart is also one of the oldest persons in the country.

Ravindra B.S., chief of Medical Gastroenterology at the hospital (who is treating the seer) said that his blood reports showed severe infection, which he may have developed because of the obstruction in his liver tube.

“We are evaluating him and have done blood tests, CT scan and an ultrasound too. We will repeat the blood tests on Sunday and based on the reports, we will take a call on whether we need to clean the liver tube or place another stent,” the doctor said.

The seer has undergone endoscopic procedure and stenting for liver tube five times in the last two-and-a-half years in BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals.

“The seer already has eight stents in his bile duct and there is no scope for implanting more. We will first try to clean the liver tube through an endoscopic procedure and if that does not help, we may have to remove one plastic stent and replace it with a new one,” the doctor said.

The seer was last admitted in June this year and had been diagnosed with a dilated liver tube owing to a mild pancreatic and liver tube blockage.

Comments

Get well soon seer

111 years old...! cant believe

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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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