Hassan Ganesha procession accident toll rises to 10; CM, PM condole
Hassan (PTI): The toll in the Ganesha procession accident in Hassan district has gone up to 10 on Saturday, police sources said.
Tragedy struck on Friday night at Mosale Hosahalli village in the district when a group of youths were taking out a Ganesha procession.
According to police, the driver lost control of the vehicle and ploughed it into the crowd, killing four people instantaneously, while four others died in the hospital on Friday night.
The toll went up to 10 on Saturday as two more injured succumbed to their injuries.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.
Condoling the deaths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh from Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000, he said.
The opposition BJP demanded that the compensation given by the state government be enhanced somewhere between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, saying Rs 5 lakh was way too less.
JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda announced a compensation of Rs one lakh to the families of those killed in a road accident at a village in Hassan district.
Deve Gowda further announced that Rs 25,000 would be given as compensation to those who were seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those with minor injuries.
He urged the state government to enhance the compensation to Rs 10 lakh to next to the kin of the deceased.
The former PM said he would write to the Chief Minister in this regard.
Reacting to the opposition's demand, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his government gives an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each deceased in Hassan accident to express condolence, not in a bid to equate the value of human life with the compensation.
"The government giving compensation to the families of the deceased does not mean it is equal to the value of life. The compensation is given to express condolence to the bereaved families," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Mysuru airport.
Referring to Friday's tragic accident in Hassan, he said, "We have formulated the Road Safety Act. If an accident happens due to the mistake of truck drivers, how can the government be held accountable? I offer my respect to those killed in the accident."
Siddaramaiah also said that he has asked district in-charge minister Krishna Byre Gowda to visit the families of the victims and announce the ex gratia.
"He went there and consoled the families," Siddaramaiah said.
Rejecting BJP's demand to enhance the compensation to Rs 10 lakh, Siddaramaiah asked, "How much did they give during their tenure in government? If they had given then, we too would have considered it."
"We give compensation keeping in mind the financial condition of the economically weaker sections. It must be given equally in all such cases," he added.
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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.
