Indian Blind cricket team tours Pak, hopes to improve bilateral ties

February 15, 2014
Karachi, Feb 15: Pakistan and India might have suspended bilateral cricket ties but the Indian blind cricket team which has reached Pakistan via the Wagah border is hoping to change this trend.

Their captain Shekar Naik said that people in both nations were very passionate about Indo-Pak cricket matches and wanted to see regular bilateral cricket series.

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"I hope that after we end our tour after playing in Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi we would have not only won the hearts of the Pakistanis but also sent out a message that Indian cricketers are always welcome in Pakistan," he said.

"I hope we can help in the peace process between both countries," he added yesterday.

The 17-member Indian blind cricket team has been invited by the Pakistan Blind cricket association to play three T20 matches and three one-day games.

This is the first visit of the Indian blind team in three years time.

Naik from Bangalore told reporters in Lahore that while efforts had been made to keep blind cricket ties alive by both countries but they wanted to see the same frequency of ties at the international level.

He said it was good to see Pakistan tour India last December but said most Indians would like to see a return series.

"Whenever we come to Pakistan it is a goodwill tour as we try to leave an impression on our hosts that there is not much difference between the Pakistani and Indian people," he said.

The first of three Twenty20 matches will be played in Lahore on Saturday followed by the next two in Faisalabad on February 16 and 17.

All three one-day matches will be played in Karachi on February 19, 21 and 23.

Shoaib Siddiqui the commissioner of Karachi chaired a high level meeting on Friday to review security arrangements for the matches.

"Top level security will be provided to the Indian team as we also want to show a soft image of Pakistan," he said. India beat Pakistan in the final to win the inaugural blind World Twenty20 held in Bangalore in 2012.

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December 3,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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December 7,2025

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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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