Over 72.13% turnout: Karnataka records its highest polling since independence

coastaldigest.com web desk

May 13, 2018

Bengaluru, May 13: Karnataka has emerged with its highest polling percentage in 2018 state legislative assembly polls held on May 12, wherein 72.13% voters exercised their franchise, a marginal increase from the 71.45% recorded in 2013.

This is a new record for the state, besting the previous record of 71.90% turnout in 1978 elections.

However, this isn’t the final figure. According to officials, counting of the postal ballots is still on. “In all likelihood, the polling percentage will go up. We will release the final figures, with the trends by evening today,” said, B R Mamatha, Additional Chief Electoral Officer.

To the ignominy of the capital city, all five constituencies with the lowest turnout are in the city, with Dasarahalli at the bottom with a turnout of 48.03%, a decrease of over 7.45% since 2013. Along with C.V. Raman Nagar, these are the only constituencies in the state to have seen less than half the eligible voters turn up to the booths on Saturday.

However, Bengaluru’s adjacent constituencies top the charts, with Hosakote seeing a voter turnout of 89.97%, a marginal decrease from the 90.97% it had recorded in 2013 when it had recorded the state’s highest turnout. Similarly, Srinivasapura and Chikkaballapur saw nearly 88% turnout.

Election Commission data reveals that 159 constituencies improved on their voter turnout in state, with Bableshwar, represented by Irrigation Minister M.B. Patil, seeing a marked surge of 7.48%.

A further 63 constituencies saw a reduction in voting, with Kolar constituency seeing a decline in voter turnout by over 12%. Incidentally, 23 out of 28 constituencies from Bengaluru have seen a reduction in the voter turnout, despite efforts by the Election Commission of India and civic groups to counter the belief that the Bengaluru shows an “apathy” when it comes to voting.

Here’s how Karnataka has voted ever since Independence.

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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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