Suspended CSK doctor tenders unconditional apology for Galwan post
New Delhi: Suspended Chennai Super Kings team doctor Madhu Thottappillil on Thursday tendered an unconditional apology for his controversial social media post mocking the government after the death of Indian soldiers in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.
On Tuesday, after reports came in of Indian casualties during the Galwan Valley clash, Thottappillil had posted a tweet mocking the government. He later deleted it and protected his account. He was subsequently suspended by the franchise.
Thottappillil took to twitter on Thursday and offered an apology.
"On June 16th, I had put out a tweet, and after I realised that the words used by me was inappropriate and unintended. I deleted the same.But by then there were screenshots of my tweet being circulated and shared in social media," the doctor stated in his apology note.
Thottappillil clarified that he had no intention to belittle PM Narendra Modi's efforts in fighting the crisis.
"It was never my intention to belittle the great & herculean efforts taken by our Honb'le prime minister and the Govt in taking care of all the citizens obligations of this great nation and its Army or our brave Martyrs.
"I have always respected the efforts of the govt in its valiant war on Covid-19 pandemic armed forces and valour of the armed forces standing and fighting under adverse conditions."
Thottappillil said he understands that his post may have hurt sentiments of thousands of people.
"I regret the hurt and anguish I may have caused to many people who read my Tweet and wholeheartedly apologise for the same," he wrote.
"I have tweeted inadvertently and mistakenly and it has nothing to do with my association with any individual or organisation." Thottappillil urged netizens to treat his social media post as an aberration.
"I am aware of the care bestowed by the Honb'le prime minister taken for the martyred jawans who had laid their lives for the country, without whom we the citizens would not be having a secured life," CSK team doctor for 10 seasons said.
"I hope the whole issue is put to an end and the tweet be treated as an aberration on my part. I once again express my sincere apologies for the unintended and inadvertent remarks made in my earlier tweet," he concluded.
CSK, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni who holds the rank of an honorary lieutenant in Territorial Army, announced his suspension on Wednesday. The team is owned by former BCCI President N Srinivasan's India Cements.
A colonel was among the 20 Army personnel killed in the face-off on Monday night, the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
