WTC Final: Australia, South Africa players wear black armbands to mourn Ahmedabad crash victims
Oval, London: Players from both Australia and South Africa wore black armbands on Day 3 of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final to pay their respects to the victims of the tragic Air India plane crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on June 12.
Along with the players, the match officials, umpires were also seen wearing the black armbands during the third day's play.
The gesture was a mark of mourning for the loss of lives in what is turning out to be one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s history. The crash, which involved an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London, took place shortly after take-off and led to massive casualties. Over 260 deaths have been confirmed so far.
As a tribute to the lives lost, both teams observed the black armband tradition—an act widely followed in the cricketing world to show solidarity during times of tragedy.
Meanwhile, the World Test Championship final is poised for a thrilling finish. Australia, holding a narrow advantage with a second-innings lead of 218 runs, are looking to defend their title, while South Africa remain firmly in the hunt in a match that has seen momentum swing rapidly.
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Karnataka Agriculture minister blames Centre for fertilizer shortfall
Bengaluru, Aug 13 (PTI): Karnataka Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy on Wednesday accused the Centre of cutting fertilizer supplies to the state by 2.75 lakh metric tonnes (MT) between April and August this year, leading to a shortage for farmers.
Replying to a debate in the Assembly, he said Karnataka's annual allocation was 11.17 lakh MT, of which 5.55 lakh MT was supplied by April, along with an additional 20,000 MT. However, allocations later dropped by 10,000 MT in May, 79,000 MT in June and 58,000 MT in July.
"The Centre has asked states to use less Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and urea. There are two to three reasons, like import from Iran and China not happening, production in our country coming down and war," Chaluvarayaswamy claimed.
"Till August, the Centre supplied 2.75 lakh MT less fertilizer this year. You can call the Union Fertilizer Minister (J P Nadda) tomorrow and get the details. If there is any false information, I will face whatever punishment you decide," he said.
The minister said the state government was "distributing fertilizer in a controlled manner."
The opposition BJP, which raised the issue citing an acute urea shortage, accused the state government of "turning a blind eye to farmers' problems."
Heated exchanges forced a half-hour adjournment, after which BJP members staged a walkout.
