Kalkura must reveal Sahitya Parishad accounts'

April 10, 2012

Mangalore, April 10: Supporters of Sarvottam Anchan who is contesting the Kannada Sahitya Parishad presidential elections, have alleged that rival candidate and President of the Parishad for the past 10 years Pradeep Kumar Kalkura has been acting as a dictating authority which is dangerous for Kannada and Kannada literature.

Speaking to mediapersons at a press meet in Mangalore on Tuesday, MG Hegde, JDS leader, alleged that the Parishad under Mr. Kalkura has not maintained proper financial accounts. “Mr.Kalkura in an interview to a Kannada news daily said that he has spent Rs. 9 lakhs for the Parishad from his pocket. This statement took us by surprise and when we asked for the accounts of the Parishad, all we got in return through an RTI enquiry is the accounts of Sahitya Sammelana and not the Parishad. Mr. Kalkura must reveal the accounts of the Parishad”, Mr. Hegde said.

Stating that spending money from one's own pocket for a government aided body like the Sahitya Parishad is in fact illegal, Mr. Hegde demanded that Mr. Kalkura disclose the profits earned by Kalkura Pratishthana in his term as the chief of the Parishad.

Mr. Hegde also alleged that under Mr. Kalkura, the membership campaign has also fallen prey to favouritism. “In spite of repeated appeals that membership campaign for the Parishad be fair and open for people of all castes and communities, only one community is being favoured and members are being chosen in an unfair manner”, Mr. Hegde said.

Mahesh R Naik, writer and publisher, Kallachu Prakashana also alleged that Mr. Kalkura pressurized the treasurer of the Parishad to give him signed blank cheques.

The Sahitya Parishad elections are scheduled to be held on April 29.

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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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