4,225 people rescued in flood-hit Kodagu amid rains
Kodagu (Karnataka), Aug 19 : A total of 4,225 marooned people have been rescued so far in Karnataka's flood-hit Kodagu district even as incessant rains continued to hamper relief work, said an official on Sunday.
"Though the intensity of rainfall has reduced, the rainfall remained unabated. As of 3 p.m., 4,225 people in Kodagu district have been rescued and brought to safety through joint operations by state and central agencies," a statement from the state disaster management authority said.
Of the rescued, 3,601 are staying in 36 relief shelters in the district.
The unabated rains, leading to flooding and landslips, have claimed eight lives so far in the region, the statement added.
The authorities, however, did not reveal the number of people stranded across the hilly district as communication lines were snapped due to landslides and damage to networks.
Several hundreds are suspected to be stranded in the district's towns and villages on hilltops, which have been cut off due to landslides and damaged roads.
Located in the Western Ghats mountain ranges, this coffee-growing district, about 270 km from Bengaluru, is the worst-hit due to the south-west monsoon rains since June first week.
About 123 km of roads are estimated to be damaged due to the rains, while more than 800 homes have been destroyed. Most of the district's arterial roads have been damaged due to landslides, delaying the rescue operations, officials said.
The heavy rains in coastal district of Dakshina Kannada have claimed one life, forcing nearly 800 people to live in temporary shelters, the statement added.
Over 60 people have been stranded in Mukkodlu village of Kodagu district, but airlifting them has not been possible due to the bad weather, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had earlier said.
About 50 Dogra Regiment soldiers, 12 expert naval divers, 62 officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 750 fire services officials and Home guards with boats and hundreds of volunteers have been carrying out relief work in the district.
In all, 1,194 specialised rescuers from state and central agencies are on job.
"Bread and other dry eatables and rations have been airdropped in the inaccessible villages of the district," the statement said.
The Chief Minister on Sunday toured across the district and visited relief camps and affected villages in the district.
Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister H.D. Revanna and district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh visited the villages and towns severely affected by the flood.
About 300 people were rescued on Saturday, including 30 senior citizens and 50 children.
Hundreds of volunteers from state capital Bengaluru and across the state have been gathering relief material, including dry food, water, milk, clothing, medicines, etc., which are being sent to those in the temporary shelters.
Over the last 24 hours, the district received an average rainfall of 5.4 cm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Few parts of the district received rain upto 11.5 cm.
The rainfall, however was "moderate" from the earlier "very heavy" rains the district received till Friday, the IMD said.
The water being released from Harangi reservoir in the district across Harangi river, one of Cauvery's tributaries, has been adding to the flooding of towns and villages in the region.
The state-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Sunday resumed all its intra-state bus services towards Kodagu and Mangaluru and inter-state services towards Kerala.
The bus services were suspended in the past few days to Kodagu, Mangaluru and flood-hit Kerala due to the landslips and damaged roads caused by the rains.
The South Western Railway's (SWR) train services were, however, cancelled or partially suspended and diverted between Yesvantpur in Bengaluru and Kochuveli in Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru to Karwar in Uttara Kannada due to landslides and floods.
The SWR on Sunday transported relief material including water, food, milk and clothing for thousands of people living in shelters in neighbouring Kerala via train from Bengaluru.
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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.
