Poojary urges quick action for nomination of priestesses in Muzrai temples

October 25, 2014

Mangalore, Oct 25: Former union minister B Janardhan Poojary said that he would exert pressure on Karnataka chief minister to take quick action over the nomination of priestesses in around 36,000 Muzrai temples run by the government across the state.

He was speaking to media persons after attending the house-warming ceremony of a widow Saroja Harishchandra who built a new house through her own efforts at Alagudde in Kodikal after being inspired by the social revolution taking place in the Kshetra in Kudroli.

A priestess offers pooja at Kudroli temple in Mangalore

There is opportunity for equal rights for all human beings in the Constitution. In this regard, the mindset of keeping widows away from social and religious practices should be warded off. Female priests should also be nominated and allowed to perform poojas in Muzrai temples, he said, adding that the chief minister and social welfare minister Anjaneya had assured of undertaking this move.

Mr Poojary said that the nomination of widow priestesses should not merely be limited to Kudroli temple. Other privately-run temples should also come forward to undertake this revolutionary move and provide widows with a bright future, he said.

Praising the efforts and hardwork of Saroja, he said that the exemplary work of Saroja should be an inspiration and example to other women who had lost their husbands.

Hailing from the Scheduled Caste community, Saroja was inspired to build her own home by the revolutionary change taking place in Kudroli temple. Previously employed by BSNL, her husband passed away in 2004, leaving behind Saroja and two daughters, both of whom are now married. After she was widowed, Saroja lived alone in her house, and inspired by the social revolutionary changes in the temple, she initiated the construction of an upper storey at her home, which she plans to rent out to people and achieve financial security.

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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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