Feature
Pakistan plans not to make landing of Indian flights in its airspace
Lahore: Pakistan on Wednesday banned its airspace for Indian flights till May 30, because Islamabad is awaiting for result of the Lok Sabha polls in India.
Pakistan closed its airspace after an Indian Air Force strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps in Balakot on 26 February.
However, Pakistan opened airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on March 27. Civil Aviation Authority issued a notification after meeting to pilots and making them aware for state of flying.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) used to operate four flights to Kuala Lumpur, two to Bangkok and two to New Delhi.
According to a senior government official said, “The top officials of defence and aviation ministries held a meeting on Wednesday to reconsider opening its airspace for Indian flights. They decided that Pakistan’s airspace will remain banned for the Indian flights till May 30”.
Pakistan waiting for results of LS polls but puts ban on Indian flights:
Senior (PIA) official told media persons that national carrier is running billions of financial loss because of suspension of flights especially to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The government will now consider lifting of the ban on Pakistan’s airspace for Indian flights on May 30.
Pakistan’s Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said “Status quo will remain till the elections are over in India. I don’t see any improvement in relations between Pakistan and India till the elections is over and a new government is installed. The ban on airspace by each other I think will also continue till Indian polls.”
The airlines and civil aviation authorities of both countries are facing massive loss, not only flights between Europe and Far-east had increased duration but because of financial loss air ticket prices too increased.
The official said if land and rail routes are operational between Pakistan and India why air route are not operational as we are not only facing huge economic failure but also losing our passengers to other airlines.
Due to closure of airspace in Pakistan, operating cost for Air India which flies to destinations in Europe and the US increased significantly as it had to take longer routes, in mid-April Pakistan had opened one of its 11 air routes for west-bound flights from India and airlines such as Air India and Turkish Airlines have started using it.
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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