Replace Rao with Ram Madhav BJP?in-charge of Karnataka: Eshwarappa

Bengaluru, May 4: A section of leaders in the Karnataka BJP, which has identified itself with senior leader K S Eshwarappa, has strongly pitched for replacement of P Muralidara Rao, BJP general secretary in charge of the state, with Ram Madhav.

These leaders have approached the party top brass in New Delhi and suggested that Rao be replaced with Madhav, who is also one of the national general secretaries of the party. They contend that Rao had failed to quell the differences between state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa, who is leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, lingering on for several months. They feel that Madhav can handle the situation better as he has been successfully handling the party affairs in a difficult and complex state such as Jammu and Kashmir.

Madhav, who is on deputation to the BJP from the RSS, recently played a crucial role in government formation in Manipur, despite the Congress winning maximum number of seats in the north eastern state. Madhav, who is from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, knows Karnataka politics better as he did his post-graduation in Mysore University, the state leaders have told the party top brass. The BJP central leadership has asked the warring factions not to air their differences in the public. It also has asked Yeddyurappa to work cohesively with party’s national joint secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, who has been drafted for the BJP work from the RSS.

Though the former chief minister has openly said that Santhosh was behind the current feud in the state unit of the party, top leaders have told Yeddyurappa that the RSS functionary will continue to play a key role in the state unit and all the leaders have to work with him, sources said.

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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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