Flood-like situation parts of Gujarat after heavy rains, 6,000 people evacuated
PM Modi calls up CM & assures help
Ahmedabad (PTI): Several parts of districts in south and central Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, received very heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours, resulting in a flood-like situation in various low-lying areas from where over 6,000 people were shifted to safer places, officials said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and took details of the situation. He assured Patel of all possible help from the central government, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.
Due to the widespread rains, 388 roads, including state highways and panchayat roads, were closed. Efforts were on to open them for the traffic. Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 16 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed to carry out rescue operations, a government release said.
Thirteen dams have been put on 'high alert' and eight on 'alert' as their water level rose due to the heavy showers, it said.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy showers during the next five days in south Gujarat, and heavy downpour in central parts of the state and Saurashtra.
Ahmedabad city received 219 mm downpour on Sunday night, causing water-logging in many residential areas and flooding on underpasses and roads. Several areas in the city inundated, resulting in hardships for commuters.
Schools and colleges in the city were closed on Monday.
Narmada and Chhota Udepur districts in central Gujarat, and Surat, Tapi and Valsad in south Gujarat have been badly affected due to the heavy downpour.
In Valsad district, a helicopter was used to rescue around 10 people from a village where they were stranded due to flooding in the Auranga river, revenue official Madhavi Mistry said.
Nearly 1,000 people were shifted to safer places from various rain-hit areas in Valsad and 15 rescued, five of them from an urban area, she said.
In Chhota Udepur district, Bodeli taluka recieved 549 mm rainfall and Kwant taluka 432 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period till 6 am on Monday, leading to water entering many areas.
The Uchh and Heran rivers in the district were in spate, and caused flooding in low-lying areas. A total of 5,245 people were evacuated and more than 350 rescued, an official said.
In Bodeli town, river waters entered many residential areas.
The movement of four passenger trains and an express train was affected after tracks between Chandod and Ekta Nagar sections were washed away, a Western Railway official said.
Panchmahal, Dang, Navsari, Valsad, Tapi and Kheda districts were also affected by heavy rains, an official from the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
In all, 218 out of 251 talukas in Gujarat received rainfall in the 24-hour period till 6 am on Monday, it said. The state has so far received 36 per cent of its average annual rainfall, as per the data shared by the SEOC.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy showers during the next five days in south Gujarat's Dang, Navsari and Valsad districts.
Several other districts of south and central Gujarat and Saurashtra are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall during the period, the IMD said.
#WATCH | Cattle washed away and streets inundated in Valsad, Gujarat as heavy rains batter the district https://t.co/MLrEIBXWbD pic.twitter.com/M8McijOR2C
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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.
