Karnataka techie’s Facebook post rescues his wife from Chennai floods

December 6, 2015

Mysuru, Dec 6: A Facebook post helped a techie from Mysuru bring his wife back from the flood-affected Chennai. The techie couple reached the City safely on Saturday.

techies

Vinay Kumar works as an environmental engineer in Bengaluru while his wife Vishnu Priya is a mechanical engineer in Chennai. Following the deluge, Kumar had lost contact with his wife for over five days. He could not travel to Chennai as the buses and trains were cancelled. As a lost resort to contact his wife, Kumar posted a message on Facebook.

“I posted a message on Facebook, explaining my wife’s situation, seeking for help. Priya is pregnant. Luckily, one Pradeep, who was planning to go Chennai, contacted me after reading my post and we both left in his car,” Kumar said.

Vinay and Pradeep could reach only till Chennai Outer Ring Road, nearly 16 km away from Valachery, where Priya was residing. “We walked up to the house, but I?could not find Priya there. Later, a few locals informed me that rescue teams had shifted the residents to a nearby shopping mall. The locals were very helpful,” said Vinay. Finally, he?could meet Priya at Phoenix Shopping Mall.

After Vinay posted Priya’s situation on FB, he received calls from various parts of the world such as the US and Malasiya, suggesting him ideas and asking for help for his wife. “Many callers asked about Priya’s health condition and doctors asked to contact them, in case of medical emergency,” said Vinay. Luckily, Priya is well.

“I could not believe the situation. It was the most scary moment in my life. Life was too difficult there. I?could not move around as manholes were open and I feared that I may fall into one of them,” said Priya. She was taken to Phoenix Shopping Mall by her colleagues. Priya was staying at her ground floor house and the house was submerged due to flood water by Tuesday.

Priya said, the rescue teams had made arrangements for food and drinking water. “I?used to get food thrice a day and there was no problem for drinking water,” she added.

However, the price of essential commodities have skyrocketed. Vendors used to charge Rs 100 per can of water and a litre milk. The couple?had no money to spend on anything, as the ATMs?were not working. Even buses and auto rickshaws were charging double the fare. “We reached Bengaluru from Chennai by a private bus by paying almost double the fare,” said Kumar. The couple want to return to Chennai for work. Priya said, she will return after flood recedes

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 7,2025

SHRIMP.jpg

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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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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