Evicted Koraga families stage stir demanding sites

August 12, 2013

Mangalore, Aug 12: The six Koraga families, which were evicted from their land to make way for B C Road-Mangalore four-laning works have started an indefinite stir on Monday outside Girijana Upayojana Kacheri at Kottara demanding fulfillment of their demands.

Addressing the protesters, CPM Leader Vasanth Achari said that though the said Koraga families had handed over their land for the project in 2010, they are yet to receive the compensation amount.

In 2011 applications were submitted for sanctioning five cents of land each at Padau village but there has been no action from the District Administration in this regard.

“Though National ST Commission had orderd the authorities to pay house rent for the families till the sites are sanctioned, this has not been acknowledged so far,” said one of the family members.

The protesters demand the sanction of promised five cents land and also reimbursement of the house rent due to them over the last few years.

CPM Leaders Sunil Kumar Bajal among others were present.

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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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