Kumaraswamy seeks more disaster funds for Karnataka

Agencies

June 18, 2018

New Delhi, June 18: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealing for higher allocation of funds for drought relief in the state.
In a letter to the Home Minister, Kumaraswamy requested a revision of the Centre-approved funds worth Rs 1, 527 crore for Karnataka's State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), as it is only a fraction of what several other states.

"Karnataka State is prone to natural disasters like drought, flood, hailstorm, excessive rainfall, lightening etc. In the past 17 years, state has faced 13 droughts of varied intensity. As far as the SDRF allocation is concerned, Karnataka has been allocated only Rs.1, 527 crore for five year period from 2015-16 to 2019-20," the letter read.

"Other states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have been allocated Rs.8,195 crore, Rs.6094 crore and Rs.4847 crore and Rs.3394 crore respectively. Hence, State Government had requested for enhancement of SDRF allocation to Rs.3, 050.72crores," the letter added.

Kumaraswamy further said that the Karnataka Government had submitted a comprehensive memorandum on May 7, 2016, requesting for additional allocation.

"The State Government had submitted a comprehensive memorandum on May 7, 2016; requesting for an additional allocation of Rs.12, 272.21crore as central assistance for various drought proofing measures," the letter further noted.

"Now, the Fifteenth Finance Commission has already been constituted and it is earnestly requested that Government of India should make appropriate recommendation to base the allocation of SDRF on the hazard vulnerability risk profiles of the States," it added.

The SDRF is available to states for disaster response and is constituted under Section 48 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The funds are used to meet expenditures for providing relief to victims of disasters.

According to media reports, water shortage hit almost all parts of Karnataka earlier in the year and 160 out of the state's 176 taluks were officially declared drought-hit.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments