Induct MLC Pratapchandra Shetty into Karnataka Cabinet; make him Udupi in-charge: Youth Cong

coastaldigest.com news network

June 14, 2018

Udupi, Jun 14: The local unit of Youth Congress has urged the party high command to make Udupi’s lone Congress MLC K Pratapchandra Shetty a minister in the coalition government led Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Speaking to media persons here Kundapur Youth Congress Committee president Ichitartha Shetty said that Udupi district, wherein Congress lost all the seats to BJP in recent assembly polls badly needs a representation in government.

“Pratapchandra Shetty is the senior-most Congress leader in Udupi district. He was Congress MLA from Kundapur Assembly Constituency for four terms from 1983 to 1999. Since then, he had thrice been elected as MLC from the local bodies constituency. His appointment had become necessary as the Congress had lost in all five Assembly seats in the district in recently polls,” he said.

Despite being the senior-most legislator, Pratapchandra Shetty had never sought or lobbied for Ministerial berth and not objected to other Congress leaders such as Vinaykumar Sorake and Pramod Madhwaraj becoming Ministers. He had not taken any other positions such as chairmanship of boards or corporations. He had always supported Mr. Sorake and Mr. Madhwaraj, when they were Udupi district in-charge Ministers. He had served as president of Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee, when Udupi was part of Dakshina Kannada district, during testing times for the Congress.

Hence, Pratapchandra Shetty was well known in both the districts. He was now the lone elected legislator (MLC) of a major community, Bunts, from both these districts in the Congress. He was not facing any charges of any kind of corruption or irregularities and he always worked along with party workers. His appointment as a Minister would enthuse the Congress workers in Udupi district, he said.

Instead of appointing any outsider as Udupi district in-charge Minister, it would be better if Mr. Shetty was inducted into the Cabinet and appointed as district in-charge Minister. His long innings as an MLA and MLC meant that he was aware of all the problems in the district, Mr. Ichitartha Shetty said.

Ramesh Shetty, Nataraj Holla, Sampath Shetty, Vijay Poojary, leaders of Kundapur Youth Congress, were present.

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His age not allowed him to work actively. So give preference to youth, even if he is outsider.

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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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