Ramanath Rai lands in the soup for allegedly demolishing Vidhana Soudha wall

June 5, 2013

Bangalore, Jun 5: Minister for Forests, Ecology and Environment and Dakshina Kannada district-in-charge B Ramanath Rai has landed in soup for allegedly demolishing a wall between his chamber and a room allotted to his personal staff on the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha.

The wall between the rooms 304 and 305, allotted to Rai, facing high court of Karnataka, has been found demolished.

The move has come in sharp criticism from opposition ranks. Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday raised the issue on the floor of the House. JD(S) leaders too backed Mr Yeddyrappa and expressed their opposition to make structural changes in historic building.

Brushing aside the allegations, Mr Rai said that he had not ordered to demolish the wall between two rooms, but only requested for a spacious room.

“How can you blame me? I have not yet entered the room. Moreover I don't believe in Vaastu. I had just requested for a spacious room,” Mr Rai said.

Dismissing the reports that wall was razed down on Vaastu grounds, close sources to Rai said to make it convenient and speedy of his personal staff to his chamber, wall was demolished.

Unlike Vikasa Soudha, Vidhana Soudha architecture does not have the facility for a minister and his personal staff to be housed in a single chamber.

However, demolishing walls in corridors of power is not new. Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar's political secretary Shankar Patil Munenkoppa had got demolished a portion of the wall of rooms 340 and 340A on the third floor of Vidhana Soudha.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments