Lukewarm response Sriramulu Yatra; Rs 5-cr bus steals the show

July 30, 2012

Karwar, July 30: BSR Congress chief B Sriramulu's much hyped 'Swabhimani Sankalpa Yatra' evoked lukewarm response from the people of Karwar on Sunday.

The 1300-km Yatra from coastal district Ramnagar is second Sriramulu's second roadshow in less than two months.

The party had earlier claimed that the main aim of the Yatra was to know the problems of the poor in coastal and Malnad areas of Karnataka and against the “cavalier” attitude of the State Government towards the people in drought-hit areas.

But what caught the attention of all in the inaugural day was Sriramulu's Rs 5-crore hi-tech vehicle.

The bus was customized by Punebased Dilip Chhabria, who is said to have designed similar ones for jailed MP Jagan Mohan Reddy and actor Salman Khan. It has a conference room, kitchenette and bedroom. A bullet-proof vehicle with fire-proof tyres, it can accommodate 12 persons. One portion can be converted into a dais for holding public meetings.

In 2007 Sriramulu's associate, jailed mining baron G Janardhan Reddy , purchased the vehicle to undertake a statewide campaign on his Rs 150-crore bribery allegations against former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy . But he shelved it as he couldn't gather enough evidence to substantiate his charges. The bus had been lying idle since then.

On Sunday, the bus sported a fresh coat of paint — the colours and symbol of Sriramulu's BSR Congress.

Sensing the tepid response, organisers of the rally brought people from districts like Bellary, Gadag, Koppal, Dharwad, and Belgaum to the function.

The local people could not relate to the extravaganza of the BSR Congress's rally. The flamboyance was new to the people of coastal area where political functions are low key affairs. This might have kept the local people away from the function, said a local BSR Congress activist.

One of the organisers of the yatra said that Sriramulu was “revered as a god” in Bellary, Gadag, and Koppal districts. The “political situation” in the coastal areas was entirely different from that of Bayaluseeme, he 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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