Mangaluru Airport runway expansion: Land acquisition may begin soon

December 4, 2014

Mangaluru, Dec 4: The Karnataka state government has reportedly accorded approval for the acquisition of land required to extend the runway at Mangaluru International Airport.

Revealing this to media persons at the sidelines of a programme, MIA director J T Radhakrishna said that the Dakshina Kannada district administration had earlier submitted a proposal to the State government to acquire 185 acres to be handed over to the Airports Authority of India.

According to Mr Radhakrishna, the airport had proposed to extend the runway by 1,130m from 2,400m.

When the runway is extended to 3,530m, the airport can handle larger aircraft (such as Boeing 747) having a carrying capacity of maximum 400 passengers. Currently, aircraft operating from the airport can carry a maximum of 180 passengers.

He said that it had been proposed to acquire the land at a cost of Rs 121 crore, of which Rs 115 crore would be spent on land acquisition and Rs 5 crore for rehabilitating the people who lose their land.

Even though AAI had sought 285 acres for the purpose, a proposal seeking permission to issue preliminary notification to acquire 185 acres had been sent to the government. The land acquisition cost has been estimated at four times above the rates fixed by the sub-registrar for the area.

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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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