Feature
To enjoy snowfall-covered landscape in Shimla, tourists flock coming to Himachal
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh capital on Tuesday received snowfall, leading to a surge in tourist footfalls as the visitors flocked to enjoy the snow-covered landscape.
“Shimla and its nearby areas have been experiencing snowfall since early (Tuesday) morning,” an official of the Meteorological Department here told media persons.
Places near Shimla like Kufri and Narkanda have been experiencing snowfall, turning the tourist spots more picturesque. “High-altitude areas of Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, Kinnaur and Shimla districts have been experiencing moderate snow,” the official said.
As news of the snowfall spread, tourists flocked to Shimla, known for its imperial grandeur of buildings that were once institutions of power when the town served as the summer capital of British India.
“It’s really a delight to see snowfall,” said Nikita Khullar, a tourist from Delhi, who was in Shimla along with her friends.
Shimla, which saw a low of 0.5 degree Celsius, recorded 7 cm of snowfall, while Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda recorded moderate snowfall.
The snowy landscape in Shimla would stay for a day, a Met official said.
Shimla receives snowfall, leading to surge in tourist to enjoy snow-covered landscape:
Reports said some of the areas in the apple belt Jubbal and Kharapathar also experienced snow.
Manali, which saw 22 mm rain, experienced a low of 0.8 degree Celsius, while it was 3.8 degrees in Dharamsala, which saw 40.4 mm rain.
Picturesque Dalhousie in Chamba district recorded 25 cm of snow.
The majestic Dhauladhar ranges in the Kangra Valley got a fresh blanket of snow.
Kalpa, some 250 km from here, and Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district also experienced snow. These towns saw the night temperature fall to minus 3.4 degrees and minus 8.6 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Lower areas of the state like Dharamsala, Palampur, Solan, Nahan, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur and Mandi towns received rain, bringing down the temperature considerably.
The Met Office has forecast scattered rain or snow in the state till Thursday.
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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