U T Khader, the only Cong MLA in twin costal districts, all set to take oath as minister

coastaldigest.com web desk

June 5, 2018

Bengaluru, Jun 5: U T Khader, the only Congress MLA in twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, will take oath as a minister on Wednesday along with other Congress and JD(S) MLAs, according to highly placed sources.

M Khader, four-time MLA from Mangaluru city (erstwhile Ullal) constituency, had served as the Minister for Health and Family Welfare for three years and the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs for two years in former chief minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka.

Amidst intense lobbying by over 60 ministry aspirant MLAs from both Congress and JD(S) rumours were doing rounds that Mr Khader may not be able to get a portfolio in the chief minister H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.

However, Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi, who chaired a meeting of Congress leaders today, reportedly expressed his inclination towards Mr Khader, considering his impressive track record as a minister in past five years.

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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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