Koliwad elected Karnataka Assembly Speaker

Bengaluru, July 5: Senior Congress MLA K B Koliwad was today unanimously elected as the 20th Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

Koliwad, a five-time MLA from Ranebennur constituency, had filed his nomination yesterday. He had served as Minister in the past.

Koliwad succeeds Kagodu Thimmappa, who has been inducted into the Ministry as Revenue Minister by Chief Minister Siddaramaih in the recent cabinet rejig.

Siddaramaiah proposed the name of Koliwad while Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra seconded it following which he was elected as Speaker unopposed in a voice vote.

After Deputy Speaker Shivashankar Reddy formally announced Koliwad's election, he was escorted by Siddaramaiah, Opposition Leader Jagadish Shettar and JD(S) leader Y S V Datta to the Chair.

Earlier, as the House met for the day, BJP members entered the Well demanding a probe into the alleged site allocation scam involving Bengaluru Development Authority but later relented after the Deputy Speaker asked them to allow the business of election of Speaker.

Congratulating Koliwad, Siddaramaiah thanked Opposition for its support in electing the Speaker unopposed.
Pointing out that Koliwad and Thimmappa are the senior most members of the House having been first elected in 1972, Siddaramaiah said dignity and the prestige of the House was in the safe hands.

Expressing confidence that Koliwad will be "impartial" as Speaker, Shettar requested him to show extra "affection" towards the opposition side.

Thanking members for electing him as the Speaker, Koliwada said he will perform his duties with at most honesty and integrity.

He also promised to protect the supremacy of the legislature and its dignity.

Stating he will follow the traditions of office of speaker and the House, Koliwad said in order to be impartial he has requested that his membership from Congress and Congress Legislature party to be kept in abeyance.

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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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