Yeddyurappa challenges Home Minister to prove BJP-PFI nexus claim

News Network

January 5, 2018

Ballari, Jan 5: Taking serious exception to Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy's statement about the nexus between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Popular Front of India (PFI), BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Friday challenged the minister to prove his charges in 24 hours.

Speaking to reporters here, Yeddyurappa dismissing the allegations that three leaders of BJP Minorities Morcha were involved in Deepak Rao murder case, said the charges are false, concocted and politically motivated.

The party MPs from the state have sought the Centre to initiate NIA probe into Deepak Rao murder case, he said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should stop politicising Mahadayi river water sharing issue. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is willing to share river water with Karnataka. The state Congress leaders should convince their counterparts on Goa, who are opposing Parrikar's statement there, Yeddyurappa said.

The BJP will hold a survey in 100 constituencies in the state, where multiple contenders are vying for party ticket, before picking the party candidates, he said.

On the reports about Kudligi MLA B Nagendra joining Congress, Yeddyurappa said that he does not have any information on the issue and that he is free to join any party.

Nagendra, now an Independent MLA from Kudligi, was elected to the 13th Assembly on BJP ticket.

To a specific query, Yeddyurappa said Janardhan Reddy is not active in party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the party workers and the public at the concluding ceremony of Parivartana Yatra in Bengaluru on January 28. Party national president Amit Shah will visit Chitradurga on January 10, Yeddyurappa 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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