Modi govt rejects Karnataka’s request for use of Kannada in High Court

News Network

December 11, 2018

Belagavi, Dec 11: The Home Department of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Government has rejected a request by Karnataka government for use of Kannada language in the High Court and similar requests from some other states had also been rejected, Law and Parliamentary affairs minister Krishna Byregowda said on Tuesday.

Answering a question from Congress member U B Venkatesh during question hour in the Legislative Council, he said other states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and others had made similar request for using local languages in the High Courts but the union government had rejected such proposals.

The union government had cited reasons like High Court sessions and verdicts routinely comes up before the Supreme Court and other courts in the states and if regional languages are used it becomes difficult to carry out court proceedings. Hence it cannot be allowed.

The Karnataka government had also passed an ordinance to this effect but even the High Court circuit bench in Karnataka had opined that it was not workable, the minister added.

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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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