Feature
In Uttar Pradesh Alert has been sounded in 40 flood prone district
Lucknow: In Uttar Pradesh, about 12 of its mighty rivers are rising while some have already touched danger level. Alert has been sounded in 40 flood-prone districts of the state and rivers are being monitored every minute.
Till Monday evening, as per report received by the office of the state relief commissioner from districts, Sharda river has crossed the danger-mark in Palia, Lakhimpur-Kheri. The river is flowing least 72cm above the mark.
At Shardanagar in Lakhimpur-Kheri, another spot where the river-level is being monitored, it is 89cm below the mark but could be inching closer.
Ghaghra has risen menacingly and is only 20cm below the danger mark in Barabanki and 35cm below the danger mark in Ayodhya. At Elgin railway bridge in Barabanki, , however, the river has touched the red-mark. At Gonda, Basti, Ballia, Bahraich and Faizabad, the river is flowing below the mark but alert has been issued.
The latest report on the rising rivers of UP shows the Ganga flowing 9.5metres below the threat-mark in Varanasi. The river, if it rises, would first affect Bulandshahr out of all the 13 districts that it flows by. In Bulandshahr, Ganga is only 1.26metre below the danger mark.
State government has issued flood alert in 40 districts of the state. Till date, 99 villages of Mirzapur and seven villages in Barabanki and Gonda have been affected.
In Barabanki and Gonda, the rising river water has deluged villages, while in Mirzapur, villages are flooded because of excessive rains on July 5 and July 6. Five persons died in Mirzapur and about 330 houses were damaged. One relief camp has been set up in Gonda so far.
Irrigation and water resources minister Dharmpal Singh said “We would release daily flood bulletin from Tuesday”. The status of all rivers would be available at police control rooms and office of district magistrates for prompt and timely action. The live status of the rivers would be available 2pm onwards from Tuesday.
The government has already instructed setting up flood chowkis in the flood-prone districts besides keeping the police and PAC on alert. “I have also asked for flood alerts to be made public too,” he said.
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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