Firefighters avert major disaster after moving LPG tanker catches fire

coastaldigest.com web desk

October 1, 2018

Kasaragod, Oct 1: Timely intervention of Fire and Rescue Services personnel averted a major fire disaster as they managed to douse fire that sparked from the rear wheel of a moving LPG tanker at Chemnad, near here, in the early hours on Sunday.

The fire and the resultant fumes were noticed around 1.30 a.m. by those travelling behind the tanker, proceeding from Mangaluru to Kollam, Fire and Rescue Services sources here said. Having been alerted, the tanker driver and the crew managed to flee after applying sudden brakes on the heavy vehicle.

The possible fire tragedy, however, was averted after the Fire and Rescue Services personnel reached the spot in time and struggled for near an hour to douse the fire.

Heavy vehicles, including LPG tankers, opt the refurbished Coastal State Highway linking Kasaragod and Kanhangad in their bid to avoid the circuitous National Highway.

The presence of heavy vehicles, especially LPG tankers, on the Coastal State Highway could pose a risk to the thickly populated areas if the authorities do not divert such vehicles through the National Highway. Kanhangad municipal chairman V.V. Rameshan said it would be ensured that no such incidents would be allowed to reccur.

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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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