‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme beneficiaries to get money instead of 5 kg rice for now: Minister KH Muniyappa
Bengaluru (PTI): As the Karnataka government is facing difficulty in procuring large quantities of rice required to fulfil its poll guarantee, it has decided to pay beneficiaries cash at the rate of Rs 34 per kilo, for the additional 5kg of the foodgrain promised under the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
The Congress, in its election manifesto, had promised to give an additional five kg rice a month along with five kg given by the Centre for free.
The state government said the disbursement of money will start from July 1.
"The FCI (Food Corporation of India) has a standard rate of Rs 34 per kg rice. We tried to get rice but no institution came forward to supply us the required amount of rice (to give additionally)," Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa briefed reporters here after a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday.
He said, "Since the date for launching Anna Bhagya has arrived (July 1) and we had given word, today in the cabinet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other ministers arrived at a decision that till the time the rice is supplied, we will give money at the rate of Rs 34 per kg, which is the FCI rate, to the (BPL) ration card holders."
If there is one person in one card then the person will get Rs 170 a month against five kg additional rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme, the Minister explained.
Two persons in the ration card will be entitled for Rs 340 and if there are five members then they would get Rs 850 a month, he added.
Muniyappa said the government has made arrangements to directly deposit the amount into the beneficiaries' accounts.
"This will come into effect from July 1 itself. This is one of the important guarantees promised by our party. We had taken this decision in the first cabinet meeting after coming to power," the Minister noted.
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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.
