New Delhi, Nov 20: Indore was adjudged India's cleanest city for the fifth time in a row in the Central government's annual cleanliness awards while Chhattisgarh retained the first position in the state category.

The second and third positions in the 'cleanest city' category of the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards, 2021' were secured by Surat and Vijayawada, respectively.

Varanasi, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha, has been adjudged the "cleanest Ganga town" while Bihar's Munger and Patna have been ranked second and third in the category.

Although Indore and Surat retained their positions in the 'Swachh Survekshan Awards 2021', Navi Mumbai lost its third spot to Vijaywada and was in the fourth position in the latest survey results announced by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the awards in presence of Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others at an event here.

The ministry said in the latest nationwide cleanliness survey, 4,320 cities were covered in 28 days, adding that over 4.2 core people had given their feedback.

Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, having more than 100 urban local bodies, have been adjudged the second and third cleanest state in the country. In the category of states with less than 100 urban local bodies, Jharkhand has been ranked first, followed by Haryana and Goa.

The 10 top-ranked cleanest cities, having a population of more than one lakh, are Indore, Surat, Vijaywada, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Ambikapur, Tirupati, Pune, Noida and Ujjain. Lucknow has been ranked the lowest among 25 cities in the same category.

According to the ministry, Vita city of Maharashtra has been ranked the cleanest city with less than one lakh population, followed by Lonavala and Sasvad.

New Delhi Municipal Council secured the first position in the country's cleanest small city category of 1-3 lakh population while Hoshangawad and Triputi emerged as the "Fastest Mover small city" and "Best Small City in Citizens' Feedback" categories, respectively.

Noida emerged as the country's "cleanest medium city" in the category of 3-10 lakh population. Navi Mumbai bagged the first award in the category of 'Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge'. It also got the first position as India's 'cleanest big city' in the category of 10-40 lakh population.

In the category of cantonment boards, Ahmedabad was ranked the cleanest city, followed by Meerut and Delhi.

Surat has bagged the first award in the district ranking category while Indore and New Delhi have secured second and third position, respectively.

 

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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.