FIFA U-17 World Cup: Brazil vs England semifinal moved to Kolkata (Salt Lake Stadium) from Guwahati due to pitch concerns

The FIFA U-17 World Cup encounter between Brazil and England has been rescheduled from Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium to Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan due to pitch concerns. The game will now take place in Kolkata on October 25 at 5pm.

“England said they didn’t have a problem, but Brazil weren’t willing to play in this pitch. Efforts were made to improve the condition, but the match has now been shifted. The teams will leave Guwahati today evening itself,” Assam Football Association president Hemendra Nath Brahma told Hindustan Times.

FIFA and Assam government officials held a meeting on Monday afternoon to decide on the possibility of Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium hosting the semi-final on Wednesday. But they left it to the two teams – Brazil and England – to take a call.

According to the officials, Brazil declined to play on the soggy field, which had taken a beating after the Ghana-Mali quarterfinal match on October 21 that was played in rain. Mali had adapted to the conditions but Ghana later lodged a complaint about the field.

Ghana coach Paa Kwesi Fabin was not impressed by the ground conditions and in the post-match press conference, he said, “We’ve not encountered anything like this before. I thought the game should have been abandoned and played at some another time but those who are organising said we have to play so we played.”

To make matters worse, the drainage system of the field was clogged leading to water-logging affecting more than 30% of the field. FIFA officials led by tournament director Javier Ceppi tried to find a way out, but it was all in vain.

“It is shining, and rain is unlikely now. We have two more days to go to make the field ready,” Sanjib Gohain Baruah, secretary of the sports department told HT earlier in the day.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal too had Pawan Hans involved for drying up the field. A helicopter hovered over the field for 45 minutes but the rotor could not do the job.

“Everyone tried their best but nature reigned. After four days of continuous rain, the soil became soft. The two teams arrived in the morning but are leaving for Kolkata tonight,” Anand Prakash Tiwari, a key member of the World Cup organising committee said.

Whatever hopes the officials had of conducting the match evaporated after forecast of rain from the meteorologists. The weathermen underlined the possibility of rain on Tuesday night and 60% precipitation on Wednesday morning, the scheduled day of the semifinal.

England reached the semifinals after thrashing USA 4-1 thanks to a hattrick from striker Rhian Brewster while Brazil came from behind to beat Germany 2-1 in the other quarterfinal.

Independence Day 2017 "will not be celebrated" specified way in Bengal schools : Mamata Government

The Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal administration has got into a direct confrontation with the centre over Independence Day celebrations scheduled for next week.

Amidst the raging controversy over BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh government's diktat making it compulsory for Madrasa students to sing the national song "Vande Mataram" on I-day, the Bengal government has decided to suspend all such school programmes on that day.

Issuing an "urgent" directive to all District Project Officers in-charge of the Sarva Shikha Mission in the state, the Bengal government has asked schools to "stop all preparations for celebrating Independence Day 2017" in accordance with the specifications mentioned by the union Ministry of Human Resource & Development (MHRD).

The MHRD school education department had earlier issued a circular on July 25 to education secretaries of all states had specified "additional activities" to be undertaken by schools under the Sarva Shiksha Mission to celebrate Independence Day in a "befitting manner".

According to the circular, schools were requested to organise nine prescribed activities between August 8 and 15th with an objective to "create festive and patriotic mood across the nation". These include quiz and debate competitions on the theme of India's freedom struggle, patriotic slogan writing competitions, organizing Prabhat Pheris and marches, film screenings showcasing India's progress and taking unity and Swachhta pledges.

However, taking exception to the centre's circular, the Bengal school education department issued the notice on Friday, barely 72 hours before 15th August stating that Independence Day 2017 "will not be celebrated" in the manner specified by the Modi government.

Blue Whale challenge: Bengal boy found dead, Doon kid stopped from killing self

A class 10 boy in West Bengal killed himself on Saturday while a class 5 student in Dehradun was stopped from taking the extreme step by his school authorities on Friday.

According to people in the know, both played Blue Whale Challenge, the lethal online game which provokes players to do daring, self-destructive tasks for 50 days before taking the "winning" step of killing themselves.

In Bengal, Ankan Dey choked himself to death by covering his head with a plastic bag tied tightly around his neck with a nylon cord, in the bathroom of his home in Anandpur town of West Midnapore district.

"He returned from school on Saturday and sat in front of the computer. When his mother (Sampa) called him for lunch, he said he will first have bath. When he did not emerge from the bathroom for quite some time, we broke open the door and found him lying on the floor motionless (around 4pm). We rushed him to the hospital where he was declared dead," said Gopinath Dey, Ankan's father.
Ankan's friends told police that he played Blue Whale Challenge, said Anandpur police superintendent Bharati Ghosh, adding that police are now probing the angle.

In Dehradun, authorities of a popular school stopped a class 5 student from taking his life on Friday, after he confessed to playing the game.

The confession came after the school principal confronted him for his unusual behaviour: he was "standing alone" in the corridor while other kids were playing and "looked depressed" although his class teacher confirmed that he was "a very playful boy".

After initial hesitation, the boy opened up and said he was into the game. Shocked, the school authorities immediately called his parents.

"The boy was very restless, and admitted in front of his parents that he was into Blue Whale online gaming. He also told that his friends in school told him about the game," a school functionary said, requesting not to reveal the name of the student and the school.

She said his mother admitted about his strange behaviour recently, but expressed ignorance about the online games he played.

Both the boy and the parents were counselled.

This is the first time Blue Whale Challenge victims have come to light in West Bengal and Uttarakhand.

A 14-year-old Mumbai boy, who jumped off the terrace of his home on August 1, is believed to be the first Indian casualty of the game that is also responsible for a suicide bid by an Indore schoolboy and another going missing in Pune this week, besides scores of teenager deaths around the world.
The players have to film each step/task and share the proof with gaming instructors, but are not supposed to tell anyone outside.

Cyber experts and psychologists have advised parents to strictly monitor teenagers hooked on to dangerous online games such as the Blue Whale Challenge.

The game starts as a challenge for teenagers, but soon becomes an addiction as they derive a thrill by winning the initial easy levels, according to Indore-based psychologist Rekha Arya.