Steven Rego conferred Pa.Go. Award for his bid to save Nandini

March 26, 2012

Mangalore, March 26: The Padyana Gopalkrishna award for meritorious rural journalism was conferred on Vijaya Karnataka reporter from Belthangady Steven Rego for his article titled 'Nandini Mayavaguva Munna' here on Monday.

His article was about the disappearing Nandini river and its impact on the environment. The award is instituted by the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalist' Union and has been sponsored by Dharmadhikari of Dharmastala Veerendra Heggade.

Umanath Kotian, president of Tulu Sahitya Academy was the chief guest and did the honours of presenting the award at a simple function at the Press Club.

Steven Rego was chosen for the award from a list of three articles. These three articles from various other reporters were shortlisted by the judges for the award. The judges for the award were Paramananda Salian, Nandagopal and Sachita Nandagopal. The award includes a cash prize of Rs 5001, a citation and a shawl.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Kotian said, ”Journalism is a profession which brings about change and development to the society. Padyana Gopalkrishna was a man who showed how to influence the public through writing. He had laid down guidelines for the Journalists to emulate. He upheld the values of Truth in the profession. “If more articles of this type came out then a significant change can be brought about in the society,” he said.

One of the jury for the award Mr. Salian said,” We have selected Steven's article based on language and this must be an encouragement for other journalists. His article contained all the right facts and quotes from the right people and was well supported by statistics. The choice of the topic was also excellent.”

Another Jury Nandagopal , a former reporter of The Times Of India also informed the audience that, ”a Journalistic report will have many aspects of Literature and Journalism is Literature in a hurry.”

Special stories should have their own deadline. Instead of giving an award for the best article it is better to judge the Journalistic work by finding out the skills used by the reporter to get a story. This award must confine itself to the rural reporting.

Responding to the honour, Mr. Rego expressed his gratitude towards the jury and the Dakshina Kannada District Working Journalists Union for having acknowledged his work.

President of the Union Harish Rai welcomed the gathering. Office-bearers Srinivas Nayak Indaje, Ravindra Shetty 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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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

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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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