“Suddenly water flowed from hills like flood”
The words of anxiety in the rescue camps
Madikeri, August 25: "The massive trees in our area started uprooting by the torrential rains that lashed along with strong winds. Suddenly the water flowed from the hills like flood. Due to the water force, rockslides occurred. Following which massive trees started collapsing into the water. It is still terrifying when we recall the sound of the rocky stones crashing with one another while rolling down with the flow of water. It was a terrifying experience to run away from them and save lives."
These are the words of anxiety from the villagers of Madikeri taluk’s Jodipala, Yeradane Monnangeri, Devarakolli and surrounding villages. Now all of them are in the rescue camps at Tekkil Community Hall in Sullia Taluk of Dakshina Kannada district and at the Sampaje Government School.
"These are never seen moments and never forgettable events of our lives. There was rain for some days. But the heavy rain of that day was devastating. The wind was more devastating than rain. The storm uprooted trees. Still getting goosebumps when we recall those moments," the villagers explained.
"Our town has completely demolished due to landslides and rainfall. Millions of crops, including Kangoo, coffee, black pepper, banana and lush gardens; which we developed by working for decades, have now remained only as mud. Houses built by borrowing loans have collapsed. There is no road to return to our town. We have no information about the Cattle, goats, dogs, and hens that we reared" the women and men in the camps said.
Due to heavy rainfall, water was gushing out from the hilltop near our house. The hills were collapsing. The rocks were rolling, and the trees were coming with flowing water. We ran out of the house to save our lives. As the roads were closed, we could not go anywhere and stayed together. The next day, some local people brought us here with the support of a rope tied across the river," said Kathayani, a resident of Yeradane Monnangere in Madikeri taluk.
“We were born and raised in Jodupala. I have never seen such a tragic event in my life. In case of heavy rainfall, a large amount of water used to flow through the stream near our house. If the rain was moderate, the water flow used to be reduced. But I have never seen a huge tree flowing like dust in the stream. The incident, where rocky stones rolling from the hills with crashing noise, was strange to me. I stood with folded hands in front of the water and requested it to stop. There was no other way than that. From there my son and I ran away and saved our lives," 60-year-old Sesamma, a resident of Jodupala who is currently housed in the Tekkil Community Hall narrated.
"Mom and I were at home. Heavy rainfall accompanied with gusty winds lashed the village. Laud sound was also there. Father, who was working in the garden, rushed and informed: “water is coming ... the rocks are rolling…” We all left home. Then a police constable came and lifted me on his back,” Likhit, a student who is currently staying at a camp in Sampaje primary school, recalled the incident.
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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.
