Lokayukta inaugurates new office building of Lokayukta SP

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Suresh Vamanjoor)

April 19, 2013

Mangalore, Apr 19: The new office building of the Lokayukta superintendent of police was inaugurated by Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao in a low-key affair at Urwa here on Friday.

The office of Lokayukta police had remained under lock and key from December last year. The entire building is being constructed in two phases at a cost of Rs 1.6 crore. The ground floor and other two floors of the building were constructed by the public works department at a cost of 65 lakhs.

Addressing mediapersons after inaugurating the office, Justice Rao said that an additional Rs 95 lakhs for the construction of the office building had been sanctioned today.

Cases pending

Having assumed the office of Lokayukta for Karnataka state two months ago on February 14, he said that a total of 4,587 complaints were pending in the jurisdiction of Lokayukta as on the date of him assuming charge, out of which 802 complaints were disposed in a period of 46 days from February 15 to April 14 this year.

Similarly, 416 complaints were disposed out of 3,644 complaints which were pending in the jurisdiction of Upalokayukta –1 and 664 complaints disposed out of 5,105 pending in the jurisdiction of Upalokayukta –2.

In Mangalore, a total of 96 cases were registered overall, out of which 6 cases were given B report and 66 were charge-sheeted while 24 are under investigation. Between 2004 and 2009, the average conviction rate of cases was 15.2 percent while it is 37.07 percent from 2010 till March 31, 2013.

Call centre

The Lokayukta has planned for speedy disposal of the remaining pending complaints, said Justice Rao, adding that a notice service system had been introduced through fax to all public servants of the state, to enable speedy disposal of cases.

He stressed that the endeavour of the Lokayukta was to ensure good governance. It will not only deal with raids and crackdowns, but will also look into other aspects of the matter. It will look into complaints where allegations on public officers are concerned and also look into matters where funds sanctioned by the government for public works are misused or misappropriated, he said, adding that a 24-hour call centre would be established to address grievances and allegations of the public.

Upalokayukta -2 Justice Subhash B Adi, Registrar B Yoginath and ADGP (Lokayukta police) H N Sathyanarayana Rao were present on the occasion, along with several higher officials and police personnel.

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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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