Redevelopment projects worth Rs 810 crore give Hubballi a face lift
Hubballi (PTI): Hubballi-Dharwad administration here in Karnataka has completed several redevelopment projects worth Rs 810 crore, including the restoration of a "dying" lake and building a green mobility corridor, under the the smart city mission of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, officials said on Tuesday.
Under the Centre's smart city mission, 63 redevelopment projects were undertaken for the 11 lakh people of Hubballi-Dharwad in a bid to improve the ecology of the city and boost the local economy. Fifty-nine projects of these have been completed, they said.
Tolankere Lake (Tolan means fox, kere means lake), a dying water body with hardly any marine inside or terrestrial life around it, has become a hub of visitors after its redevelopment, officials said.
They said that there was excessive silt collection and very little water holding capacity in the lake and the entire area had become barren and dry.
The project took nearly four years to be completed from October 2018 to April 2022. It got delayed due to the Covid pandemic, Managing Director of Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Limited (HDSCL) Rudresh Ghali told PTI.
Torenkele Lake is easily the most loved community space in Hubballi and is an excellent example of how a nearly dead lake was brought to life, officials said.
Since its opening, over 500 people visit it during the weekdays, and the number swells to 1,500 on weekends. It has also become the starting or ending point of every public awareness or fitness rally held in Hubballi. Given its popularity, property prices around the lake have quadrupled since its rejuvenation, they said.
"The lake has an area of 39 acres, which was developed at a cost of Rs 25 crore. We have amenities for all age groups, including a children's play area, open area for exercises, food court and an open theatre. A lot of planting has also been done in the area to make the landscape beautiful.
"We have installed proper electric poles and aerators for maintaining the water quality, and keep them on during mornings and evenings. We had a lake here, but there was no landscape, play area and walkway. We now have a walkway around seven metres wide, which has a length of around 1.25 kilometres," Ghali said.
A dedicated area has been earmarked for the physically handicapped to do exercise. From 6 am to 9 am, using Tolankere is free for walkers but after 9 am, the charge is Rs 20 for adults and Rs 10 for kids, he said.
Two artificial islands were created inside the water body, in addition to the already existing island, to attract migratory birds, Deputy General Manager for HDSCL Basavraj Dharmanti told PTI. He added that the park has a basketball court and a volleyball court too.
Mahesh, a local resident, said earlier the place looked like a haunted road, but has now turned into a beautiful spot to visit with ones' families.
"We used to roam here around five to six years ago when I was a student. It was like a haunted road earlier. Now, it has shops everywhere and the road has also been built. A fountain has been constructed between the road which makes it more beautiful and attractive. Earlier, people used to be scared to go to the area. They are now spending time here with family members," Mahesh said.
The high-quality refurbishment of a glass house at the Mahatma Gandhi Park, a landmark lung space in Hubballi filled with large heritage trees spread over a sprawling 7.42 hectares, has made it a popular destination for gatherings and weekend family outings, with people visiting the place from across the city.
A grand glass house is present inside the park due to which it is popularly known as the Indira Gandhi Glass House. The park was constructed in 1977.
It also has a toy train with a 960-metre long track and a musical fountain, with water jets dancing to popular Kannada and Hindi songs, the officials said.
The MG Park has generated a revenue of Rs 20.67 lakh from May 2022 to March 2023, despite a low entrance fees of Rs 20, they said.
The administration has created the Green Mobility Corridor (GMC) in the city in which an unclean, inaccessible urban drain has been converted into a clean, thriving public green space with a dedicated non-motorised corridor.
"There are three things in GMC. We are strengthening the drains by properly constructing the walls to protect it. We can reduce the flood-prone area and by this, 18 areas will be prevented from flooding. We are keeping the drains clean by diverting sewage water. We have built a sewage treatment plant (STP) so that sewage gets treated and the treated water is again released in the drains.
"We have made non-motorised transport (NMT) along the drain where people can walk and ride bicycles. The total length is 9.4 km. It starts from Unkal Lake and a total of 4.5 km stretch has been developed. It is beneficial for people and also time saving," Ghali said.
In the monsoon of 2022, Hubballi received extremely high levels of precipitation but the newly constructed retaining walls were effectively able to control the floods, ensuring zero flooding along the banks, they said.
A three-metre high chain-link fence is erected all along the drain and at all the 12 bridges as a way to earmark the land extent of the GMC. It also ensures protection for the corridor from its misuse after dark, preventing the dumping of solid waste into the drain which was a regular practice prior to the corridor, the officials said.
Officials also said the entire stretch is lit with aesthetic street lights. CCTV cameras are also installed at several places, which are monitored 24/7 by the smart city's Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), making it a safe space especially for women and children, they said.
"The apartment in which I live was flooded during the heavy rains in 2019. Though the rains were as heavy in 2021 and 2022, the GMC project has prevented flooding. We are also happy that a bicycle corridor has been constructed just outside our house connecting important parts of the city," said Dr Vijayalakshmi, professor at KLE Technological University.
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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.
