Feature
Congress headquarter gears up to welcome Priyanka Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia
Lucknow: The Congress headquarter at Mall Avenue in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city, where the party’s high profile office-bearers Priyanka Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia will have their offices to run the Uttar Pradesh campaign is being painted in fresh white.
The sprawling double-storeyed building is being dressed up for the new occupants as the mood turns upbeat among party loyalists.
A new ‘war room’ is being constructed and a conference hall for workers to meet leaders in private is also being built. There are 12 computer terminals.
Surrounded by high-rises that have cropped up in the past few years, the state Congress headquarters for long has been a sad reflection of the party’s decline in the state. There is now hope among the cadres that things could change.
Anil Kumar Sharma, assistant permanent secretary (Organisation) who pedals over 14-km to reach the office daily points to the repairs that are taking place in the building. “Similar repairs” were underway in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) set up by Priyanka Vadra.
There is some aggression creeping back as well. “In the war between falsehood, lies and truth, Priyanka will certainly lead the Congress to victory in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” says Sharma.
For that to happen the physical repairs of the state party headquarters as well as that of the party will need to take place.
The NSUI office on the campus lies neglected. Inaugurated in 1986, the office next to a bust of Indira Gandhi has a rusted lock at its gate, which rarely opens now, says a party man. Empty packets of chips are littered around. People dump garbage in front of it.
Congress headquarter begins makeover for Priyanka Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia welcome:
UPCC spokesman Virendra Madan downplays plans for renovation and makeover and says it has nothing to do with Priyanka Vadra’s appointment as general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. “This has been going on for some months now as we try to get battle ready for the Lok Sabha challenge” Madan told media persons.
Negotiating the ripped flooring, the broken walls, the slippery ground, a dump of removed glass panes, windows, western commodes and other civil equipment, one reaches the backyard of the UPCC office where shanties dot a large part of the campus.
Gayas Ahmad, a driver with the Congress for the past 15 years but now terminated in a downsizing drive recently, informs 14 families working for party live here. There are five cars at the UPCC office.
Expectation of these people from Priyanka Vadra is less for the state and country and more for themselves. “We have not been paid our dues, have been asked to vacate the houses. So we have gone to court…may be Priyankadidi will help us,” says one on the condition of anonymity.
In a room packed with old newspaper clippings, Arman Ahmad, a 33-year-old Seva Dal worker for the past three years says, “I am wedded to the Congress due to its secular ideology but tell me how can change come if the organisational structure continues to be so rusted as it is now.”
Yet, the elections and prospect that things might improve for the party has lifted spirits. On Saturday, hundreds gathered at the party office to celebrate Republic Day.
Ram Avtaar, who runs the party canteen, says while till not long ago he sold 100 cups of tea daily, the number has gone up to 250 since Priyanka Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia’s appointments were announced.
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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