ABKS members end hunger strike

May 10, 2012

Mangalore, May 10: The eight-day long eight-day fast-unto-death agitation demanding better facilities at the Employees State Insurance hospital and dispensaries in the city ended on Wednesday with assurance by ESI officials of consideration of demands.

The members of Akhila Bharatha Karmika Sangha (ABKS) led by Sudatta Jain decided to withdraw the stir after interacting with ESI Hospital director Rehamunnisa who had flown in from Bangalore on Wednesday evening.

Mr Jain told reporters that the director had convinced Jain on fulfilling all the demands at a discussion held at Deputy Commissioner's office here on Wednesday evening.

He said that reposing faith in the director's promises he had decided to end the agitation at 8 pm.

Soon after drinking the tender coconut, Jain who complained of weakness was admitted to ESI hospital along with six others who supported him in the protest.

ABKS has been demanding upgrading of infrastructure at ESI hospital was forced to launch a fast-unto-death agitation for the fifth time in a row since 2009.

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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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