Karnataka celebrates Republic Day with fervor
Bengaluru:The 71st Republic Day was celebrated with fanfare in Karnataka on Sunday with an eye- catching march past, cultural events and breathtaking stunts by the defence personnel marking the state-level event at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground here.
Governor Vajubhai Vala unfurled the national tri-colour and in his address explained the development activities in the state and various welfare measures taken by the government to improve the lives of people.
While hailing the BJP government for the 'effective' implementation of the law and order, Vala emphasised on ensuring safety of women and educating men and boys to treat women with respect.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that the day a woman can walk freely at the midnight on the roads, that day we can say that India achieved independence. To ensure that a safe climate is created for women, our men and boys must be educated in such a way that they learn to treat women and girls with respect, the Governor said.
On the crop loan waiver initiated by the government in 2019-20, Vala said the scheme benefiting about 21 lakh farmers will be completed by March this year.
People who gathered in large numbers at the celebration welcomed with cheers the mesmerising parade by the security forces and cultural events by school children. The motorbike stunts by the Army Service Corps Tornadoes left the audience spellbound.
The stunts included Single Scissors Crossing, brickwall jump, Sudarshan Chakra, Tubelight Jump, path of fire and pyramid formation by the 20 ASC tornadoes.
The event came to an end with the mock-drill of anti- terrorist operations by the Garuda Squad.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
