Congress leader seeks expulsion of several party colleagues over Deve Gowda’s defeat

Agencies

June 2, 2019

Tumkur, Jun 2: Tumkur District Congress president R Ramakrishna on Saturday wrote to general secretary KC Venugopal blaming party leaders for the defeat of Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition candidate HD Deve Gowda in the Lok Sabha constituency.

He has also recommended expulsion of leaders like former MLA KN Rajanna, and state Youth Congress vice president Rajendra from the party.

"The person who is responsible for all this is KN Rajanna, Youth Congress president R Rajendra, Gram Panchayat member J J Rahana, Chudappa Shantla Rajanna, Manjula Narayana Reddy, Taluk panchayat president, vice-president, and members," Ramakrishna wrote in his letter.

As a part of the seat-sharing deal between Congress and JD (S), Tumkur Lok Sabha seat was contested by JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. However, he lost to BJP's GS Basavraj.

In his report to Venugopal, the district Congress president termed the lack of unity between JD (S) and Congress workers as one of the reasons for the loss.

"Although the coalition party announced Deve Gowda as the coalition candidate, former MP Muddahanumegowda, KN Rajanna filed nomination earlier, which created confusion. After much drama, they withdrew their nomination but their followers never supported the coalition candidate," Ramakrishna said in his report.

He further alleged that Muddahanumegowda campaigned at only two places and did not campaign in the rest of the places, which helped the BJP.

"Sahakar Mahamandala president N Ganganna and others distributed money in favour of the BJP. The money which was given by the Congress was also distributed to favour the BJP," Ramakrishna said in his report.

"I request the party high command to take strict stringent action against the above-mentioned people," he urged.

BJP won 25 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state while the Congress-JD(S) coalition could win only two seats.

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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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