Flood toll climbs to 58 in Karnataka as more bodies recovered

Agencies
August 14, 2019

Bengaluru, Aug 14: With the recovery of four bodies in Hassan district, the toll in the devastating floods and incessant rains in parts of Karnataka has gone up to 58, authorities said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, with inflows into the reservoirs steadily decreasing, the situation in the affected districts in north, coastal, malnad and south interior Karnataka has improved further.

According to an official update, senior officers camping in the districts are overseeing relief operations, which are in full swing.

"Damaged roads are being restored on war-footing for movement of men and materials", it said.

Joint rescue teams comprising personnel from State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army have evacuated nearly 6.98 lakh people as on today, the official note said.

As many as 1,160 relief camps are operational, where clean drinking water, food and other relief materials are being provided to nearly four lakh people housed in them.

According to the government, 103 taluks in 22 districts have been affected by floods and incessant rains in the past few days, resulting in loss of agriculture and horticulture crops on 4.58 lakh hectares and damaging 56,381 houses.

"There is extensive damage to critical infrastructure such as roads, tanks, pipelines, schools and electrical infrastructure etc. Damage assessment is in progress", it said.

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News Network
December 7,2025

SHRIMP.jpg

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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