Nirmala Sitharaman visits flood-hit Kodagu, promises Army help
Kodagu (Karnataka), Aug 24 : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday visited the flood-hit Kodagu district and assured the people of Indian Army's help in rebuilding the devastated region's roads.
"I can assure you that the task force of the Indian Army's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will visit as consultants and advise the administration on how to build roads in hilly areas," Sitharaman told reporters in Madikeri, about 280km from the state capital Bengaluru.
Due to heavy rains and landslips, several of the district's arterial roads have been battered, disconnecting many villages and towns.
The Defence Minister visited Kushalnagar and Madapura in the district, which were severely affected by heavy rains and flash floods last week.
She also interacted with few flood-affected people sheltered at a relief camp at Madikeri in the district.
"I will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who also takes care of national disaster relief funding, (Minister for Road Transport and Highways) Nitin Gadkari and also submit a report to Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) on the district's situation," Sitharaman said.
The Minister, who is an MP from Karnataka, said the Centre's financial aid to the region in distress will be decided after an assessment of the loss.
According to preliminary estimates, the district has suffered losses worth Rs 1,140 crore to public and private property as a result of the rains, said Kodagu Deputy Commissioner P. Sreevidya.
"At least 34 village panchayats have been badly affected and the municipalities in Kushalnagar and Madapura suffered heavy losses as they are in the catchment area of Harangi river," she said.
The district administration is also working on providing temporary shelters to those affected by floods and residing in relief camps. "We have identified land and an additional deputy commissioner rank officer will oversee the rehabilitation," Sreevidya added.
About 75 Army engineering task force personnel will also be assisting the district officials in restoring the critical roads of the district, the state's Relief Commissioner Gangaram Baderiya said in a statement earlier.
About 5,000 people are currently sheltered in 51 relief camps across the district, with more than 1,100 houses have been destroyed in floods and landslips.
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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.
