Medical colleges, trauma centres to come up in phases in all districts: CM Siddaramaiah
Haveri (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday announced that a cancer centre, a trauma centre and a super-speciality hospital will be established in Haveri district, while medical colleges and advanced healthcare facilities will be set up in phases across the remaining districts of Karnataka.
The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating the Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences and launching and laying foundation stones for works of various departments, organised by the district administration, Zila Panchayat, the Medical Education Department and the Health and Family Welfare Department.
"To ensure healthcare services at the local level, every district must have a medical college hospital, a super-speciality hospital, a cancer hospital and a trauma centre," Siddaramaiah said, underlining the government’s focus on strengthening public healthcare infrastructure.
Recalling his earlier tenure, he said the Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences had been announced when he was the chief minister earlier, and that as deputy chief minister, he had declared that every district should have a medical college. Karnataka currently has about 71 medical colleges, including 22 government-run institutions, he said, adding that facilities would be expanded in phases in the remaining districts, including Vijayapura.
Stating that the poor largely depend on government hospitals as private healthcare is unaffordable, Siddaramaiah said accessible public health services were essential.
"Our government is inclusive. Irrespective of religion, caste or political affiliation, we view everyone without discrimination and beyond boundaries," he said, noting that guarantee schemes were reaching the poor across communities.
Responding to criticism of the guarantee schemes, the chief minister said all such programmes were implemented in the first year of the government. Though Rs 1.12 lakh crore had been spent over two-and-a-half years, the state was not financially bankrupt, he said, adding that about Rs 52,000 crore is being spent annually on the schemes.
Refuting misinformation about the state’s finances, Siddaramaiah said several projects had been taken up in Haveri, including a Karnataka Public School building, a tourist guest house, Valmiki Bhavan, a new library and the upgradation of the district hospital from 250 to 500 beds.
Of the nearly Rs 500 crore spent on the Haveri medical college, Rs 194 crore was provided by the Centre, while over Rs 300 crore was borne by the state, he added.
On irrigation, the chief minister stressed that the Mahadayi project and Phase-3 of the Upper Krishna Project must be implemented, proposing a committee under former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to expedite the process. He said completing the Upper Krishna Project was crucial for utilising the state’s allocated 173 TMC of water.
Emphasising social harmony, Siddaramaiah said inequality could not be eliminated without building a secular and humane society.
Following the path shown by Buddha, Basava, Ambedkar, Gandhi, Kanakadasa and Narayana Guru, the government was working to promote rationality and scientific temper, he said, adding that all efforts would be made to develop Haveri into a model district.
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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.
