Bengaluru FC win maiden Durand Cup title, beat Mumbai City FC 3-1 in final
Kolkata, Sep 18: Bengaluru FC and their talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri won their maiden Durand Cup football tournament title after beating Mumbai City FC 3-1 in the summit clash at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
Siva Sakthi (10th minute) and Brazilian Alan Costa (61st) scored for the winners while Apuia got the lone goal for the Mumbai side in an entertaining match.
The Blues took an early lead through a fifth tournament goal from Siva Sakthi.
The long ball was delivered from the deep by Jovanovic, which put Mourtada Fall under pressure with Siva on his shoulder. The Senegalese defender was in the end foxed by the bounce and Siva pounced on it with a measured chip over the keeper.
After Chhangte had the first chance for the Islanders in the 17th minute, they got the equalizer at the half-hour mark when Sandesh Jhingan gave away a free-kick in a dangerous zone.
Ahmed Jahouh played on Greg Stewart, who went on one of his runs and took a left-footed grounder towards goal which Gurpreet Sandhu fended off. Apuia was at hand though and tapped home the rebound with ease.
The Blues then almost went ahead in the 38th minute, when, off a Roshan Singh corner, a rebound fell for Roy Krishna and he shot towards goal, but Chhangte brought off a miraculous goal-line save.
Vinit Rai then had a chance after being played on by Stewart but shot over from close and the only other notable incident of the half was the match's first yellow card for Mourtada Fall, the Mumbai captain, who had a forgettable 45 minutes.
The game maintained its intensity in the second half. Five minutes after resumption, Jahouh delivered a measured long ball which fell for Chhangte who did well to get away from two BFC defenders, but with just the keeper to beat, the tournament's highest scorer shot over.
BFC then got ahead for the second and final time in the game, when off a Sunil Chhetri corner aimed at the far post, Brazilian Alan Costa jumped highest and nailed a header into the back of the Mumbai net.
The most notable chance for Mumbai in the second half came through Spanish midfielder Ripoll in the 77th minute when he went on a solo run from midfield and unleashed a booming drive which beat Gurpreet but struck the left upright and came back.
Chhetri also had a couple of golden opportunities to score, once in the 69th minute, when his left-footed strike missed the target and then again in the 87th when he was one-on-one with the keeper, but Lachenpa was up to it and brought off a great save.
With six minutes of time added on, Mumbai did give it one final shot and Greg Stewart came close in the 94th minute, but his effort was also just wide.
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Vijayendra slams Cong govt over alleged medicine shortage, irregularities in health dept
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday hit out at the Congress government over alleged medicine shortages, large-scale irregularities and disruption of services in the health department.
The situation had deteriorated to such an extent that doctors were forced to protest on the streets, he claimed.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the Siddaramaiah-led government lacked the will to resolve pressing public issues and accused it of indulging in "blame politics" instead of governance.
"Due to the irresponsibility of this Congress government, the health department itself is in the ICU. There is a severe shortage of medicines in government hospitals. The 108 ambulance services are facing severe problems. Doctors have been pushed to the streets to protest. The Congress government celebrates 1,000 days in power with achievement conventions, but it has failed to solve real problems," he said.
He criticised the state government for allegedly shutting down Jan Aushadhi centres located on government hospital premises, claiming that needy patients are suffering as they are not getting medicines.
"For the past two months, government doctors themselves have been advising poor patients to buy medicines from private pharmacies because medicines are unavailable in hospitals," he alleged.
Vijayendra further alleged that the state government has reportedly not cleared Rs 143 crore in dues to institutions providing CT scan and MRI services.
"As a result, needy patients in rural and urban areas are unable to access these services. Pregnant women are facing hardships. Doctors are forced to protest on the streets...This government claims to be one that delivers on its promises. But does it have even the slightest concern for how poor people are struggling in the healthcare sector," he alleged.
The BJP state president claimed that the Congress government under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and its deputy D K Shivakumar is not pro-poor; instead, it is a government that supports middlemen.
"Who is responsible for the medicine shortage in government hospitals and medical colleges? The state government and the concerned ministers are responsible. According to information available to me, under pressure from influential individuals, irregularities are taking place in medicine procurement. Instead of purchasing medicines through authorised central and state agencies, the government has moved to fragmented district- and taluk-level tenders," he claimed.
He further alleged that due to commission demands of 15-20 per cent, many companies and public enterprises are not participating in tenders, worsening the system.
Vijayendra claimed that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation's procurement system has been sidelined, leading to an artificial shortage of medicines.
He also alleged that a private individual from Mangaluru is controlling the state's medicine procurement system, supplying medicines to most government hospitals.
"This has led to market prices being inflated. Medicines costing Rs 100 are reportedly being purchased for Rs 300. I will provide more documents and evidence in the coming days," he claimed.
He also alleged that staff associated with the 108 ambulance services have not been paid salaries for the past eight to nine months.
"The government must take responsibility and reform the system instead of protecting middlemen," he added.
