MP Kateel directly responsible for ‘illegal toll collection’; defeat him: Panel urges people

coastaldigest.com web desk

April 11, 2019

Mangaluru, Apr 11: Holding Dakshina MP Nalin Kumar Kateel directly responsible for the “illegal toll collection” at Toll Plaza on NH 66 in Suarthkal, the anti-toll struggle committee has urged the general public to defeat him.

In a release issued here, Muneer Katipalla, convenor of the Toll-Gate Virodhi Horata Samithi, Surathkal, said that the toll plaza was given permission to collect toll on a temporary basis for three months amid opposition from the general public in 2015.

Though the authorities had promised to merge the toll booth with the Hejmady toll plaza once it was completed, the merger never happened and the illegal fleecing is continuing till date, he said.

While the samithi has been fighting against the illegal toll collection for two years, NHAI’s resolution to merge it with the Hejmady plaza has not been given effect to so far. The samithi had held numerous protest meetings and an 11-day dharna opposing the toll booth and not once Mr. Kateel did raise his voice against toll collection, Mr. Katipalla said.

Instead, he went on giving hollow promises to the people. Due to his inaction, the samithi had to hold a series of protests demanding restoration of the national highway stretch between Surathkal and Nanthoor.

If the MP had acted properly, the Surathkal toll booth could have been closed down in a week; but his inaction has forced vehicle users to pay toll twice within a distance of 9 km. As such, people should vote against him, Mr. Katipalla said.

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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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