Feature
Women in Delhi attacked with balloons contains semen on Holi festival!
New Delhi: The vibrant colours of Holi may have settled down, leaving revellers with happy memories, but the harassment of many of Delhi’s women, especially those who have moved to the city from elsewhere, has left behind scars that refuse to fade.
In the run-up to Holi this year, there were complaints from women that they had been attacked with balloons filled with semen.
The first such attack that gained eyeballs was flagged by Lady Shri Ram College student Tolino Chishi, who wrote about being attacked before Holi on her social media profile.
Chishi, who is from the Northeast, recalled how she was harassed on the streets of Delhi. She was in a rickshaw when a balloon filled with some kind of liquid hit her hard.
It hit me on the hip where it burst open, its content seeping into my dress,” she said.
On March 1, another student, Ghazala Rasheed-originally from Patna and now in Delhi-related on her social media page an incident of Holi harassment.
“I’ll never forget this in my life. Today a bunch of ruffians attacked me and my friend …with water balloons on our face,” she wrote.
Her left ear was hurt, her nose started bleeding and face swelled up, Rasheed wrote.
“When my friend called the police they were reluctant (to help),” she said.
It’s not that women who are long-time residents of Delhi are spared such violent balloon attacks. But many who have come to the city in recent years are new to being harassed in public in the garb of a festival.
And several of them have been protesting in public or on the social media about such acts.
Students of Delhi colleges also took out protest marches last week on Holi hooliganism.
Holi turns ugly for women in Delhi as attacked with balloons contains semen!:
Avidha from Kolkata complained that she was hit with a balloon filled with semen on the day before the festival, which was on March 2 this year.
“Though I did not go for a medical test, the contents of the balloon that burst on my dress were sticky. It was disgusting,” she said.
Purnima (name changed) recalled how she was attacked by a group of men. The first year student of Daulat Ram College, who came to Delhi from Madhya Pradesh, said she was suddenly bombarded with balloons.
“Then the gang grinned at us and went away saying, “Bura na mano holi hai (don’t mind, it’s Holi). The balloon really hurt me,” she said.
Purnima said she called a women’s helpline number.
“But they just responded by consoling us,” she said.
Another student, Gouri (name changed), said she was shocked to get an indifferent response from a woman who lived in a house in Amar Colony from where balloons were thrown at her.
“Just like we cannot stop people from burning crackers during Diwali, we cannot stop people from throwing balloons during Holi,” the woman resident was seen telling Gouri in a video which the student shared with media persons.
Delhi University student Shalu Mishra, who was among those attacked in the Amar Colony incident, however, said the attackers did not look out for migrant students.
“It does not matter if it is a local or migrant. It s not a gender crime either, as some women also attack others,” she said.
It has to be hammered into people’s heads that they cannot fling balloons at people, she said.
“There is need for sensitisation. People have to stop doing this not just because it’s a crime, but because it is wrong,” Mishra 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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