Assam flood: Six more die, 7.2 lakh affected
Guwahati(PTI): The flood situation in Assam has deteriorated with six more persons, including two children, losing their lives and nearly 7.2 lakh people coming under the impact of the deluge across 22 districts.
According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), four persons drowned in Kampur revenue circle of Nagaon district.
One person at Doboka in Hojai district and a child at Silchar in Cachar, too, died due to the flood, it said on Sunday.
The death toll due to the flood and landslides this year has now gone up to 24 across Assam.
ASDMA said more than 7,19,540 people have been impacted in several districts -- Barpeta, Biswanath, Cachar, Darrang, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hailakandi, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong West, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Majuli, Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur and Udalguri.
Nagaon is the worst hit with almost 3.46 lakh people in distress, followed by Cachar (over 2.29 lakh people) and Hojai (over 58,300 people).
Till Saturday, over 6.8 lakh people were affected by the deluge across 31 districts of the state.
At present, 2,095 villages are under water and 95,473.51 hectares of crop area has been damaged in the state, the ASDMA bulletin said.
It said the authorities are operating 421 relief camps and distribution centres in eight districts, where 91,518 people, including 18,626 children, have taken shelter.
Around 253 people have so far been evacuated from various flood-hit parts of Assam.
Massive erosion has been witnessed in Barpeta, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nalbari and Udalguri, among other districts, the bulletin said, adding, floodwaters have also caused damage to embankments, roads, bridges and other infrastructure at various places.
Brahmaputra's tributaries Kopili at Dharamtul and Kampur, and Disang at Nanglamuraghat were flowing above the danger mark, cautioned ASDMA.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said he held a discussion with NHAI Chairperson Alka Upadhyaya in New Delhi on issues related to national highways in the northeastern state.
"I stressed urgent repair of the flood and landslide-affected NHs and timely completion of the ongoing projects," he said on Twitter.
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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.
