Heavy rains lash many parts of Karnataka, allaying fear of drought
Bengaluru, Jul 23: Heavy downpour over the past two days in many parts of Karnataka, especially the coastal and southern region, brought hopes of a good harvest for farmers staring at a drought-like situation due to inadequate rains in the last two months.
According to Meteorological Department, there were heavy rains as southwest monsoon was active over the state and rainfall occurred at most places over coastal Karnataka, south interior region and at many places over northern areas.
There was very heavy rainfall in several parts of Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Udupi and Kodagu districts.
Heavy rains, accompanied by high-velocity winds, continued to lash several parts of the twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi on Sunday.
With the monsoon intensifying in the coast once again, several trees were uprooted in the two districts damaging houses and electric poles since Saturday, officials said.
In Mangaluru, some houses were damaged when a huge tree got uprooted on the campus of the zilla panchayat office in Kottara. A man sustained a head injury during the incident. Several trees fell in Daddalkad, Urwa and Pakkaladka in the city.
The water level in Nethravati river has risen steadily since Sunday morning, touching the danger mark. With this, the low-lying areas have been flooded with river water.
Water also entered a school playground and caused huge losses to arecanut growers following destruction of standing crops.
Officials directed the people in flood-affected areas to shift themselves to safer places. They also visited the rehabilitation centres set up at Panemangaluru.
Vehicular movement was affected on the Mani-Mysuru highway after a tree fell on the road at Neralakatte, while an uprooted tree at Lorettopadavu in Bantwal taluk disrupted traffic in the area.
A huge mango tree fell on the Katapadi-Shirva state highway near the weekly market area, leading to traffic disruption. Two bikes were damaged and one person was injured in the incident.
With Kumaradhara river in spate, the Dakshina Kannada district administration has urged devotees not to visit Kukke Subrahmanya temple for now as the river banks are submerged in floodwaters.
Fire and Rescue service personnel and Mangalore Electricity Company (MESCOM) staff have cleared roads and restored power supply at affected areas with the help of local people.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall till Monday.
The Department said there were 'extremely heavy rainfall' in Castle Rock in Uttara Kannada district; Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, which is the origin and major catchment area of river Cauvery; Udupi district; and Mulki in Dakshina Kannada district.
Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Haveri, Hassan, Dharwad, Davangere, Chamarajanagar, Gadag, Raichur, Mysuru, Bagalkote, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Mandya, Chikkaballapura and Vijayapura received good rains.
The Department said rain is very likely to occur at most places over the state in the next 48 hours and heavy to very heavy showers are likely to occur at isolated places over all the districts of coastal Karnataka and over Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Shivamogga districts in southern region.
"Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, Yadgir districts of North Interior Karnataka and over Hassan and Ballari districts of South Interior Karnataka," the Meteorological Department said in its statement.
It further said that in the next 48 hours "heavy to very heavy rain" is likely to occur at isolated places in all the districts of coastal Karnataka.
Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Belagavi district of north interior Karnataka and over Chikkamagaluru, Kolar, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Hassan districts of south interior Karnataka, the forecast read.
The Department has also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea as squally weather with wind speed reaching 40-45 Kmph gusting to 55 kmph is likely to prevail over Karnataka coast.
Orange alert has been sounded in the coastal districts as well as Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu and Shivamogga, while Hassan, Ballari, Yadgir, Koppal, Haveri, Gadag, Dharwad and Belagavi have been put on yellow alert.
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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.
