CM Siddaramaiah vows Rs 70,000 cr irrigation boost, Secretariat for Kalyana Karnataka
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Kalaburagi (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday greeted citizens on Kalyana Karnataka Liberation Day and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the region’s all-round development by outlining key initiatives, budget allocations and upcoming projects.
He said the occasion was a reminder of the sacrifices made by freedom fighters who fought for the liberation of Hyderabad-Karnataka from the Nizam’s rule.
“Whilst the rest of India was celebrating independence on 15 August 1947, this region was still not free. The atrocities of the Razakars had reached unbearable limits,” he said, recalling that the region was integrated into the Indian Union thanks to the determination of local heroes and the resolve of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
The CM paid homage to several freedom fighters, including Sharanagouda Inamdar, Raja Venkatappa Nayak, Dattatreya Avaradi, Shivamurthy Swamy Alavandi, Matamari Nagappa and many others, calling their sacrifices “unforgettable”.
Turning to development, Siddaramaiah said since the introduction of Article 371-J in 2013, 1,19,923 posts have been identified for direct recruitment, of which 84,620 were already filled.
“Now that the issue of internal reservation has been resolved, we intend to fill the remaining vacancies in a phased manner.”
For 2025–26, the state government has allocated Rs 5,000 crores to the KKRDB. “Thus far, over Rs 14,000 crores have been utilised for 41,103 works, with 32,985 completed,” he said.
Siddaramaiah highlighted that his government had invested nearly Rs one lakh crore in its flagship guarantee schemes.
Under the Shakti scheme alone, 77.6 crore women have availed free bus travel at a cost of Rs 2,100 crores.
Gruha Lakshmi had benefitted 24.78 lakh women heads of households with Rs 9,650 crores disbursed, while Anna Bhagya had spent over Rs 3,200 crores in the region and Yuva Nidhi has provided Rs 172 crores to 5.75 lakh unemployed graduates and diploma holders.
On irrigation, Siddaramaiah said his government has approved land acquisition for Phase III of the Krishna Upper Canal Project through farmer consent and would raise the height of the Almatti Dam.
“This decision will provide irrigation to over 15 lakh acres across Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Koppal. We will invest over Rs 70,000 crores in the next three years,” he said.
He also said "a Kalyana Karnataka Secretariat would be established in Kalaburagi", with a formal notification to be issued next week.
“The development of Karnataka is incomplete without the development of Kalyana Karnataka,” Siddaramaiah concluded, urging citizens to work together for “a new India and a new Karnataka”.
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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.
