DMK manifesto promising to stop Mekedatu: K'taka BJP chief targets Cong govt
Bengaluru (PTI): The Congress government in Karnataka has "sacrificed" the drinking water needs of the state's farmers and citizens for the "selfish" coalition politics of INDIA alliance, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra alleged on Thursday, following DMK's promise to stop construction of Mekedatu dam in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.
Voting for the Congress would be detrimental to the interests of the state, he said, as he took a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government in a post on "X' with "#WeakestCM #NammaKaveriNammaHakku (Our Cauvery Our Right)."
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, a key constituent of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto released on Wednesday promised stopping construction of Mekedatu dam.
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"DMK Manifesto exposes the Siddaramaiah govt's clandestine arrangement with M K Stalin (Tamil Nadu CM) that has cost us our lifeline "Cauvery", the primary source of Drinking Water & Irrigation purposes for our farmers, during the time of a severe drought," Vijayendra said.
He said, this very much explains the government's "lackadaisical attitude" in fighting for the state's rightful share of Cauvery water with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), that has resulted in Karnataka releasing water in abundance to Tamil Nadu, "more than our share."
"It's no wonder if DMK would leverage its alliance power to bargain for more Cauvery water & STOP the Mekedatu project, in case the I.N.D.I.Alliance comes into power. Voting for Congress would be detrimental to the interests of our state. Only Karnataka BJP can do justice to our state," he added.
A separate Project Division and two Sub-Divisions have already been set up to implement the ambitious Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and drinking water project of Cauvery river valley, Siddaramaiah had said, presenting the state budget last month.
A survey to identify land that will be submerged under this project and the counting process of trees have already been initiated, he had also said, adding "action will be taken on priority to commence the work early after obtaining remaining necessary clearances from the competent authorities."
Mekedatu is a multi-purpose (drinking water and power) project proposed by Karnataka, which involves building a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district.
Neighbouring Tamil Nadu has been opposing the project, raising apprehensions that the state would be affected if the project takes shape.
The project, once completed, is aimed at ensuring drinking water to Bengaluru and neighbouring areas (4.75 TMC) and also can generate 400 MW power, and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore (2019 rates).
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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.
