UTK chalks out Wenlock development plan; 14-bed semi-ICU to be inaugurated soon

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Suresh)

November 5, 2014

Mangaluru, Nov 5: Health Minister U T Khader announced that a semi-intensive care unit (ICU) consisting of 14 beds would be made ready and inaugurated by next week at District Wenlock Hospital in the city, along with a sophisticated mortuary and a sewage treatment plant that would be set up shortly.

Speaking at a meeting with hospital authorities and related officials concerning the master-plan for the development of the Wenlock hospital on Wednesday, he said that a sewage treatment plant (STP) would come up at a cost of Rs 1.12 crore in the hospital premises for effective disposal of waste generated from the hospital. The existing mortuary will be converted into a model one with good basic facilities such as drinking water, toilets, water-proof sheets and seating area for the victims' kin, he said.

The 14-bed semi ICU will be inaugurated next week, to ease the intake of critical patients at the main ICU ward. Along with that, eight dialysis machines will be sanctioned shortly in a separate sophisticated dialysis centre at the hospital, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 1 crore would shortly be sanctioned for developmental works at Wenlock hospital.

Mr Khader said that emphasis should be given to improving the existing infrastructure and facilities at the hospital in order to make it a model hospital for other districts.

Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo directed the concerned officials to prepare a master-plan necessary for the renovation and expansion of the hospital and list the developmental works on priority-basis to move ahead with the project.

The health minister discussed the requirement of a trauma centre and a full-fledged medical block for the hospital with the officials, and directed that a model trauma centre should be established in the hospital.

He informed that a round-the-clock medical pharmacy would be launched in the hospital premises within few weeks to provide generic medicines to patients. Five new ventilators will be provided to the existing ICU ward, he added.

Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim, district medical surgeon Dr Rajeshwari Devi, Dean of Kasturba Medical College Dr M V Prabhu and others were present.

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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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