Mangaluru: Youth electrocuted to death while removing borewell pipes

[email protected] (CD Network | Photos by Moany Gutty)

April 14, 2017

Mangaluru, Apr 14: A youth was electrocuted to death and another suffered injuries while removing casing pipes after a borewell became defunct at Kotekaru Beeri on the outskirts of the city last night.

The victim has been identified as Usman (20), son of Husainar, a resident of Konaje. His colleague Shareef Tiblepadavu (25), was rushed to a hospital after the tragedy.

Khaleel, a local contractor, had hired six workers to remove the casing pipes of a defunct borewell. They successfully removed four casing pipes. The fifth pipe came in contact with a high tension wire. As a result Usman died on spot and Shareef fell unconscious.

Usman, who studied up to Class 9, was the only son of their parents. For a long time he had remained jobless. Recently, contractor Khaleel had offered him a job.

A case has been registered at Ullal police station and investigations are on. The contractor has reportedly gone absconding.

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