Feature
Delhi gets 2 new flyovers, to ease traffic congestion in east Delhi
Commuters in east Delhi may get some relief from chaotic traffic with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurating two newly-constructed Seelampur-Shastri Park flyovers on Saturday.
The flyovers will be a big relief for commuters between Welcome in northeast Delhi and Kashmere Gate, and the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
The Shastri Park flyover consists of six lanes and is constructed at a length of 700 metres, whereas the Seelampur flyover is constructed at a length of 1,200 metres and eases the commute of vehicles travelling over the Dharampura crossing towards Shahdara.
The construction of the new flyovers will bring relief to around 1.5 lakh vehicles which seem to travel through the route daily.
The foundation stones for the flyovers were laid by Kejriwal on February 10 last year. The sanctioned cost of the construction project was Rs 303 crore, but it was completed in Rs 250 crore, and Rs. 53 crores saved in the construction of the high-quality infrastructure, Kejriwal said at the event.
Congratulating the people of Delhi and the Public Works Department (PWD) officials and engineers for the completion of the project, Kejriwal said that the “people of the national capital are proud of living in the national capital due to all the facilities and amenities provided by the Delhi government”.
PWD took 1.5 years to complete the construction of these flyovers. Out of which if we exclude six months of Covid-19 and 3 months of GRAP (Graded Response Action plan, it took only 9-10 months to complete the projects.
“First of all, I want to congratulate the residents of East Delhi for these two flyovers. The people of East Delhi used to face long traffic jams for longer hours. But now, the journey from ISBT to UP border can now be completed within a span of 10 minutes without any traffic jams and with a smooth ride. The flyover constructed is of good quality,” Kejriwal said.
“This piece of magnificence is both economical and effective.”
Kejriwal said that the Signature Bridge was constructed for the ease of the citizens residing in East Delhi after the AAP government came into power.
“And I am certain that these flyovers will contribute further towards providing them a hassle-free ride. In the last five years, a lot of progress has taken place in this area, including establishing water and sewer connections.”
The Chief Minister also envisioned a children’s park under the flyovers.
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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