Heavy rains lash Kerala, water levels rise in various dams, several roads submerged
Pathanamthitta/Idukki (PTI): With heavy rains lashing various parts of Kerala since Saturday night, water level reached the red alert level in various dams in the state and several roads were submerged by Sunday morning.
The weather department said the situation is expected to continue, especially in the southern parts of the state, for the next two days.
The Idukki district administration said that according to the Tamil Nadu government, the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam reached 140 feet on Sunday morning.
As a result, people living on both sides of the Periyar should be extra vigilant as the shutters of the dam could be opened in the next 24 hours if water level rises further and there was a possibility that excess water would overflow, it said.
The district administration of Pathanamthitta, which too received heavy rainfall, has advised extreme caution, especially by those living close to river banks or landslide prone areas.
It advised moving people in landslide and flood prone areas to relief camps.
Visuals on news channels showed submerged roads in various parts of Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts, where an orange alert has been declared.
Kottayam district also received good rainfall since morning, but no untoward incidents were reported from there.
Incessant rains caused minor landslips and disruption of train services in some parts of Kerala on Saturday, prompting authorities to sound extreme caution in hilly areas, river sides and tourist centres.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Saturday predicted extremely heavy rains in Thiruvananthapuram while an 'orange alert', warning of very heavy rainfall was issued for Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki districts.
Thunderstorms coupled with lightning are also very likely to occur at one or two places in the state till November 16, according to IMD.
A Red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while Orange alert denotes very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rains. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.
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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.
