Goa dentists wear black bands at interaction with Nadda to protest biomedical waste handling charges
Panaji, Nov 25: A group of private dentists in Goa wore black arm bands during an interaction with BJP president J P Nadda here to register their protest against the recent hike in biomedical waste handling charges by the state government.
The dentists registered the protest during the interaction that Nadda held with medical professionals from different streams late Wednesday evening, which was organised by the BJP's state medical cell. The group of dentists, which protested, was affiliated to the Indian Dental Association (IDA).
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who was also present there, later said the protesting dentists, who "created a scene" before the BJP president, were "politically motivated".
Eyewitnesses said the doctors, during the question-answer session with Nadda, objected to the increase in the biomedical waste handling charges by the Goa government
Talking to reporters after the protest, Dr Anil D'Silva, member of the IDA, said that dentists have been "illogically placed in the category of doctors who produce heavy biomedical waste".
He pointed out that a new private contractor from Delhi has been hired to collect the biomedical waste, and the firm has placed dentists in the category of those producing higher quantity of such waste, due to which the charges have gone up.
Talking to reporters over the protest, CM Sawant said the dentists had met him in the past and their demand was under consideration.
"There was no need to protest during such a function as it is a state subject and I had answered properly to their questions," he said.
Sawant said that some doctors who were "politically motivated" were creating a scene at the function, where the BJP chief was present.
Issuing a statement over the incident, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) last night said, "With respect to today's incident during the doctors interaction at Hotel Fidalgo, the CM assures to positively resolve the issues raised by the aggrieved, unfortunately for reasons unknown, the protest began after the assurance was given."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
