Making Siddu DyCM was my biggest mistake: Gowda

Bengaluru, Jan 29: Former prime minister H?D?Deve Gowda on Wednesday said the biggest mistake he had committed in his political career was to make Siddaramaiah the deputy chief minister during the Congress-JD(S)?coalition government in the State in 2004.

Reacting to the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Karkala on Wednesday, Gowda said: “I?do not care whether Siddaramaiah goes to Tirupati or elsewhere to wash away his sins, but the biggest mistake I made was to make him the deputy chief minister.”

‘Non-entity’

He said till Siddaramaiah became the deputy chief minister, he was a non-entity. “If he had not been made the deputy chief minister, who would have known him?” he asked.

The JD(S)?national president said he would not seek the resignation of Siddaramaiah.

“Let even D K?Shivakumar be a minister for the next three years. Let Siddaramaiah give him the Excise portfolio also. I know the reasons why Satish Jarkiholi resigned as Excise minister,” Gowda said sarcastically.

Regarding the Arkavathi Layout case, he said, “If the scenes of the BDA?officials working behind locked doors had happened during my tenure, I would have ensured that they were arrested and jailed. This government is talking about transparency.”

Internal politics

Dwelling on the internal politics of JD(S) involving the party Gangavathi MLA?Iqbal Ansari being seen with BJP?MP?B Sriramalu, Gowda said, “I?should be cursing myself for making Ansari an MLA. What work does he have in Sriramalu’s house in Ballari?” he questioned.

The former prime minister said he would replace Ansari as the Koppal district unit president of the party.

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