DC accused of having 'undue interest' in pushing forward Mall multiplex proposal

August 30, 2012

Mangalore, August 30: Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development has submitted a letter to Jagadish Shettar, Chief Minister of Karnataka accusing Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda's 'undue interest in pushing approvals' for the Multiplex Project proposed at the 'illegal City Centre Mall'.

Stating that since the issue of the building's construction itself is sub-judice following the MCC Commissioner's order for demolition of parts of the Mall constructed in violation of license, Vidya Dinkar, activist and Joint Co-ordinator of the Forum has stated that any action in this regard by the Deputy Commissioner would not be in good taste and would set a bad precedent.

“It is disheartening the way in which the present Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada District seems to be favouring, parroting and pushing through with the intentions of the Applicants despite having ample proof at hand regarding the lack of safety of the said building, that too by using his public office and position to do the same. The undue and zealous interest shown by Dr N S Channappa Gowda, the Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate, a public Authority, in the pursuit of the Applicants to establish a multiplex in a Mall, a high-rise building which has not been cleared for valid reasons by the Director General of Police and Director General Karnataka State Fire & Emergency Services as well as the Corporation of the City of Mangalore indeed raises serious questions/suspicion of receipt of probable gratification by the said Authority from the Applicants”, Ms Dinkar has stated in the letter addressed to the Chief Minister.

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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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