MLA accuses DVS government of cheating DK people

April 19, 2012

Mangalore, April 19: Mangalore MLA U T Khader has accused the BJP led Karnataka government of following discriminatory policy against Dakshina Kannada district in allotting grant to meet the water problem.

Addressing media persons at District Congress office on Wednesday, he said though Chief Minister DV Sadanada Gowda had promised to provide Rs 30 lakh to all the taluks in Dakshina Kannada, they did not received it so far. However, the grant has been already released to other drought-hit areas, he added.

He urged the government to immediately sanction Rs 30 lakh to each Assembly constituencies in Dakshina Kannada to manage the water scarcity problem in the district.

“Why the government is following discriminatory policy by categorising the districts and allotting fund only to the drought-hit areas and not to the districts like Dakshina Kannada which too are facing severe water shortage?” he questioned.

He said that none of the companies have come forward to dig the bore wells as there is shortage of fund with the administration to carry out the work. He urged the government to release the fund immediately and warned of staging a protest if the demand is not met.

The MLA said that the poor people are facing trouble due to the random cancellation of ration cards following the order of the State Food and Civil Supply Department dated April 12. The officials have taken up the task of canceling the ration cards of the poor without giving prior notice and thousands of ration cards have been cancelled in the district over last one week.

“As many as 705 ration cards have been cancelled in Pudu Gram Panchayat alone till April 17. The reason cited by the officials for cancelling the cards include failing to pay the electricity bill, not having proper door number etc. The random cancellation without prior notice has pushed the poor people into trouble,” he said and demanded the government to solve the issue in a more systematic manner.

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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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