Indian wins USD 2.7 million in raffle draw in UAE

Agencies

June 4, 2019

Dubai, Jun 4: An Indian expat won a staggering USD 2.7 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, a media report said Tuesday.

Sanjai Nath R, who had purchased the ticket at Big Ticket Abu Dhabi, was announced the winner on Monday of the bumper prize, 10 million dirhams (USD 2.7 million), the Khaleej Times reported.

While Nath won the first prize, five other Indian expats were in the top 10 winning list of the raffle, the report said.

The second price of 100,000 dirhams was won by Indian expat Binu Gopinathan, it said.

Shipak Barua from Bangladesh won the luxurious Land Rover Series 16 in the raffle, the report added.

Last month, Shojith KS, an Indian national from Sharjah, became first prize winner of the after winning 15 million dirhams (USD 4.08 million).

Big Ticket is the largest and longest running monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and luxury cars in Abu Dhabi.

Tickets can be purchased online or at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Ain Duty-Free and City Terminal Abu Dhabi.

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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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