BJP's search for Ramanath Rai's election opponent begins

October 13, 2012

Mangalore, October 13: The BJP has begun its hunt for a worthy equivalent to challenge Congress heavyweight Ramanath Rai in Bantwal Assembly constituency.

The BJP is currently up against the challenge of fielding a powerful enough contestant against Mr. Rai especially after the departure of B Nagaraj Shetty, Former Minister, from the BJP. Attempts are being made to fulfill this void in the next four months.

Although rumours did rounds that Padmanabha Kottary may contest against Mr. Rai, voices from within the BJP have reportedly said that he is not the right candidate against the Congress veteran as he has failed to make an impact as the district president of the BJP. The party is likely to field Mr. Kottary against U T Khader from the Mangalore constituency where he did reasonably well last time around, it is said.

Businessman Jitendra Kottari on the other hand has been making attempts to get an election ticket from the past one year, it is learnt. He has made Bantwal his home from the past one year and has been engaging himself in social and religious programmes with greater enthusiasm, trying to draw the attention of the Sangh Parivar, it is said.

The BJP, like Congress, is also reportedly taking caste permutations into account and hence may field Bunt candidates to cash in on the Bunt influence on the Bantwal constituency. In the BJP's Bunt list, prominent names that feature are those of Santhosh Kumar Rai Boliyaar, ZP member, and Rajesh Naik Ulepady. Both of them are active members of the party and are also reportedly close to Prabhakar Bhat. Rajesh Naik has meanwhile said that he is not interested in contesting elections. Hence, Mr. Boliyaar's name is coming to the fore and although there are chances that he may get the post of Vice President of DK Zilla Panchayat, he may well be elevated to contest for the Assembly seat.

In the meantime, it is also being said that Sadananda Poonja, a staunch critic of Ramanath Rai within the Congress, is likely to contest elections from BJP against Mr. Rai.

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Mangaluru NRI returning from Saudi Arabia arrested over Instagram post

News Network

December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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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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