Eid al-Adha in coastal Karnataka, Saudi Arabia on September 24

September 14, 2015

Mangaluru, Sep 14: Unlike the previous year, Muslims in coastal Karnataka and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year will observe Eid al-Adha on the same day. The feast of sacrifice will be on September 24 (Thursday) in the Arab land and the Tulu Nadu, announced the religious authorities of the respective regions on Monday.

Thwaka Ahmed Musliyar, the Khazi of Dakshina Kannada district, after a meeting on Monday declared that September 15 will be the first day of Dhul Hijjah, the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar, in the region.

The announcement follows reports of Dhul-Hijjah moon sightings in the region. SM Abdul Rasheed Haji, the chairman of Dakshina Kannada Wakf Advisory Committee, meanwhile, confirmed the statement of the Khazi.

Assayyid Fazal Koyamma Thangal Al Bukhari Koora, the Khazi of Ullal, and Bekal Ibrahim Musliyar, the Khazi of Udupi district, have also confirmed the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah tonight.

The religious authorities in Saudi Arabia have already announced that Eid al-Adha holidays will start on September 24. The announcement was made after the kingdom’s official moon-sighting body watched for the Dhul Hijjah crescent.

The Islamic lunar calendar depends on sightings of the moon – a practice which can at times prove difficult.

The ‘Greater Eid’ always falls on the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah. This Eid coincides with Hajj, a pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to holy sites in Saudi Arabia.

That includes to Makkah, home of Masjid al-Haram or the Grand Mosque, where a falling crane killed more than 100 people over the weekend. As Saudi Arabia investigates the accident, authorities said Hajj will continue as planned.

Eid al-Adha honours the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his promised son, Ismaeel (Ishmael) as an act of submission to God’s command.

Last year Muslims in Saudi Arabia had celebrated Eid al-Adha on October 4 while their counterparts in coastal Karnataka had observed it on the following day.

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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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