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UP CM Yogi Adityanath Helicopter denied permission to land in WB state
Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders today accused the West Bengal government of denying permission to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s helicopter to land in West Bengal’s Balurghat district.
Adityanath was scheduled to address two rallies at Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur district and Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur district.
Activists and supporters of the saffron party protested outside District Magistrate A.D.P. Palraj’s office at Balurghat.
According to district BJP leaders, the party had been trying to secure the permission besides making alternative arrangements so that Adiyanath could address the rally here.
According to them, they had filed for the requisite permission well in advance but were told at the last minute that a final decision was yet to be taken on the matter.
Describing the incident as yet another glaring example of “undeclared Emergency” in the state, BJP national Secretary Rahul Sinha demanded immediate suspension of the District Magistrate.
Helicopter of Yogi Adityanath denied permission to land in Mamata’s state:
“This is a glaring example of an undeclared Emergency in West Bengal. How can you treat the Chief Minister of another state in this way? The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is a guest in Bengal.
“The culture of Bengal is to extend all courtesies to the guests. But in this case they have refused permission for his chopper to land. Nothing can be more indecent. This only shows how much the Trinamool is scared of BJP’s progress in Bengal,” he said.
This is the second recent instance a controversy has erupted over the denial of permission for facilitating the landing of helicopters carrying BJP bigwigs, who have been holding public meetings across the state as part of the BJP’s blitzkrieg in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
On January 22, the district administration had denied permission for BJP President Amit Shah’s chopper to land in Malda district, citing that the ground was not ready.
Later, the state BJP unit obtained permission to land the chopper at two places-the helipad in Malda’s Golden Park Hotel and the helipad used by the Border Security Force in the district-and Shah duly addressed the rally.
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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