Rai threatens to quit over Sangh Parivar’s influence on intelligence wing

January 30, 2015

Mangaluru, Jan 30: Claiming that the state intelligence department was filled with officials who were in favour of the Sangh Parivar, Minister for Forest and Environment B Ramanath Rai has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to identify such officials in the department and replace them on the grounds that they did not work in favour of maintaining law and order situation.

According to highly-placed sources in the Congress party, the minister opined that such officials did not submit intelligence reports that worked in favour of the law and order situation and gave false information especially in the context of Dakshina Kannada district.

Resignation threat

A local media report claimed that Mr Rai has also threatened to resign from the post of the minister over Sangh Parivar’s influence on intelligence department.

He also has expressed dissatisfaction at the direct involvement of state party leaders in the party affairs in Dakshina Kannada district, report said.

Stating that the failure and non-cooperation of the intelligence department was the reason for the recent communal clashes in the district, Mr Rai has been appealing to the chief minister to reconstitute the intelligence department since it was not possible to control law and order at the last instant if the intelligence officials submitted reports favouring the Sangh Parivar. It is said that the minister was not happy with the lack of response in this regard.

The intelligence department officials are aware of the imminent threats and where clashes and riots are going to occur. However, they are misguiding the government by providing false information. By this, the people affected by the clashes are disappointed with the government, which could weaken the future prospects of the Congress party, say sources close to Mr Rai. It is said that Mr Rai had already brought this to the notice of the chief minister two weeks ago.

Sources have said that the district in-charge minister Rai has also expressed displeasure over the political developments in Puttur constituency in the district, primely over the constituency MLA Shakunthala Shetty having taken suggestions from party chief G Parameshwar while nominating office bearers in local bodies instead of having asked him. The minister is of the opinion that the activities of the MLA went against the interest of the party.

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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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