Congress MLAs belonging to Muslim community demand more berth in the Cabinet

Agencies

December 17, 2018

Belagavi, Dec 17: While the party High Command is yet to take a decision on much delayed Karnataka Cabinet expansion, Congress MLAs, belonging to Muslim community are demanding more representation.

Speaking to news agency, former Minister and Congress MLA Tanvir Sait said that “we have seven members who have got elected in the 2018 May Assembly elections and but only two members in the Cabinet”.

Maintaining that they have appealed to the party High Command to accommodate more MLAs, belonging to Muslim minority in the State, he said that “let the party High Command take decision on the names who can be considered.

We have deserved more numbers in the state cabinet, but also important portfolios”.

Stating that people belonging to Minority community have always identified themselves with the Congress in all the elections, Mr Sait said that “it is but natural for them to expect larger representation in the Cabinet”.

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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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