Feature
Uneasy calm in Bengaluru over Cauvery water share
Bengaluru : Uneasy calm prevailed on Tuesday in Bengaluru, where one person was killed in police firing on Monday night and curfew is in force in 16 sensitive localities after angry protests turned violent in southern Karnataka over releasing more Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.
“We have, however, relaxed curfew in many areas for Muslims to offer prayers on Eid at mosques and in open grounds,” a police official told IANS here.
Though schools, colleges, government and private offices and banks have holiday for Eid fest, several IT firms and back offices, which are working, advised their employees to work from homes in view of the simmering tension across the city.
Shops, markets, malls, hotels, eateries and commercial establishments are observing an undeclared shutdown across the city due to fear of being attacked by protesters.
Buses, taxis and three-wheeler auto-rickshaws are also off the roads, while metro rail service has been suspended till late evening.
Hundreds of passengers alighting at railway stations in the city and at the airport on the outskirts had a tough time in reaching homes or workplaces in the absence of taxis, autos and buses.
A Rapid Action Force platoon staged a flag-march in the city’s north-west suburb to instil confidence in the people that the situation is under control.
One person – Umesh, 25, died when police fired to disperse a mob attempting to torch a patrolling vehicle after ransacking a provision shop in the city’s northern suburb,” said the police official.
Though police initially resorted to caning and lobbing tear gas shells to prevent the enraged mob of about 50 people from turning violent, 12 rounds were fired by a platoon of the Karnataka State Reserved Police to disperse it from the troubled spot.
According to preliminary inquiry, the victim, working at a petrol retail outlet, was unfortunately present at the spot where the mob gathered.
Umesh hailed from Kunigal in Tumakuru district, about 70km from Bengaluru.
“We have imposed curfew for three days from early Tuesday in the city’s north-west, south-west, north east and central areas to maintain peace and prevent untoward incidents during the festival week, Bangalore police commissioner N.S. Megharikh told the media here on late Monday.
Onam festival for Malayalis on Wednesday and immersion of idols of Hindu god Ganesha on the 10th day of the festival falls on Thursday.
“We have also issued a ban order under section 144 of the CrPC across the city to prevent assembling of more than five persons in public places and populated areas and maintain law and order,” asserted Megharikh.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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