Actor Mohanlal reaches landslide-hit Wayanad, pledges Rs three crore for rehabilitation works
Wayanad (PTI): Well-known actor Mohanlal, who is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army, on Saturday reached landslide-hit Wayanad, donning his army uniform and pledged Rs three crore for the rehabilitation works of the disaster-hit region.
The actor, who reached the Army camp at Meppadi, held a brief discussion with the officers and left for the landslide-hit zone along with others.
He visited Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Punchirimattom, among other places, and interacted with the various rescue workers, including the Army and the locals, to get an understanding of the gravity of the incident.
Speaking to the media, Mohanlal said the magnitude of the disaster can only be understood by witnessing it firsthand.
"The magnitude of the landslide can only be comprehended by witnessing it firsthand. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the NDRF, the Fire and Rescue, the other organisations, locals etc who all are part of the rescue operations have done a wonderful job," he said.
The actor said the 122 infantry battalion (TA) of the Indian Army, of which he is part, was among the first teams to reach the disaster-hit region.
"The Vishwashanthi Foundation, of which I am also a part, has decided to donate Rs three crore for the rehabilitation works here. More funds will be made available if needed," the actor said.
The actor was conferred the Lt Colonel post in the territorial army in 2009.
Meanwhile, movie director Major Ravi, who accompanied Mohanlal, said the foundation will also rebuild the Mundakkayi school, which was in ruins.
UPDATE WITH CORRECTION: Actor Mohanlal, who is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army, on Saturday reached the landslide-hit Wayanad donning his army uniform. The actor, who reached the Army camp at Meppadi, held a brief discussion with the officers and left for… pic.twitter.com/JbDQ2kXbIh
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
