New Delhi, Nov 1: Delhi recorded the highest number of road accidents in 2022 among cities with a population of over a million people, followed by Indore and Jabalpur, while over 17,000 people lost their lives across 50 such cities, according to a report by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Delhi recorded 5,652 accidents, followed by Indore (4,680), Jabalpur (4,046), Bengaluru (3,822), Chennai (3,452), Bhopal (3,313), Mallapuram (2,991), Jaipur (2,687), Hyderabad (2,516) and Kochi (2,432), the report said.

These 10 cities accounted for 46.37 per cent of the total road accidents in 50 cities with a population of one million each.

A total of 76,752 road accidents were recorded in 2022 in these 50 cities, resulting in a loss of 17,089 lives and causing injuries to 69,052 people. These cities are spread across 17 states and 2 UTs.

The cities accounted for 16.6 per cent of the total accidents and 10.1 per cent of the total accident-related fatalities in the country.

The number of road accidents and fatalities has increased in all million-plus cities except Chennai, Dhanbad, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Patna, and Vizag in 2022 as compared to 2021, the report stated.

In 2022, about 68 per cent of road accident deaths took place in rural areas, whereas urban areas accounted for 32 per cent of such casualties.

Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, jumping of red lights and use of mobile phones taken together accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total accidents and 8.3 per cent of total deaths, the report said.

The number of accidents per lakh of population increased from 30.3 in 2021 to 33.5 in 2022, the report said, adding that 4,61,312 road accidents occurred in 2022, claiming 1,68,491 lives.

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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.

The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.

On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."

His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.

In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”

Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”

Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.

After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”

Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.

Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay. 

Chaotic end to a poor season

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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.

It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.

Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.

Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.