After Shakthi Yojana launch, men ridership surge, alongside free travel for women; reports
Bengaluru: One of the newly formed Congress government’s flagship schemes, the ‘Shakthi’ Yojana which came into effect earlier this week, has shown a very positive response. In the meantime, alongside people complaining about the crowding, reports also indicate that the ridership of men travelling in the state transport has also shown a steep surge.
Quoting notes of a number of urban mobility experts, The New Indian Express reported that there has been a sharp rise in the overall ridership of passengers including men who have to pay for their travel.
As per experts cited by the TNIE, they opined that there could be a possibility of two kinds of shifts following the launch of the Shakthi scheme. Firstly, the women who previously preferred other modes of transport, veered to the state transport. Subsequently after the implementation of the scheme there was a substantial surge in ridership in the form of euphoria towards the complimentary initiative.
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According to the TNIE report, the average daily ridership of BMTC stands at 27.34 lakh. However, data provided by the transport utility reveals that on June 12, the total ridership reached 34.94 lakh, with 17.57 lakh women passengers. On June 13, the ridership increased further to 40.17 lakh, including 20.57 lakh women. Similarly, on June 14, the total ridership was 33.44 lakh, with 16.85 lakh passengers being women, and on June 15, it reached 33.28 lakh, with 17.67 lakh women passengers. These figures indicate a rise in the number of male passengers.
Meanwhile, in a video released by a Twitter user named @shaandelhite , a KSRTC conductor was seen stating that “Because women are going out with family and so more men are travelling by bus. Earlier, it was 7-8k collections per day but now it is up to 16k per day,” he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
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.
