Feature
50,000 Indians to hear Modi at Marhaba Namo event in Dubai
Dubai: All roads in Dubai would be leading to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium where 50,000 Indian expatriates have registered for ‘Marhaba Namo’ – a grand public reception being held for visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening.
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, is to address the Marhaba Namo, which is being touted as another Madison Square-like event.
The ‘Marhaba Namo’ is being hailed as unprecedented in the history of the UAE where for the first time a visiting head of state has been allowed a reception on this scale.
The seating capacity inside the stadium is 30,000, an additional 15,000 will be accommodated outside the stadium, where food stalls, DJs and two large video walls will broadcast Modi’s speech live.
Seeing the unprecedented response, the organising committee issued an alert that registering online is not a guarantee for admission into the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
Under directives of Dubai Police, the organisers said that gates to the stadium will open at 3 p.m. to allow the public. Modi is expected to address the event at 8 p.m. in an hour-long address.
The cultural programme will begin at 6.30 p.m. featuring 35 international artistes who have been flown down especially for the event.
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is organizing around 200 public buses to take people to and from the stadium.
A press statement issued by ‘Marhaba Namo’ said that online registration through a dedicated website www.namoindubai.ae does not ensure entry to the stadium for the public reception for Modi.
Access to the event would be on first come first entry basis, it said.
“Gates of the stadium will be closed as soon as it is filled to capacity,” the statement added.
Children below five years of age will not be allowed and bringing of food, cameras and video cameras will be restricted, said organisers.
Around 40,000 food packets will be ready for visitors and free water will be provided, they said.
Giant screens outside the stadium will display the event live for people unable to enter the stadium, the organisers said.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Anurag Bhushan, Indian consul general, said: “We are privileged that Modi has decided to pay a visit which comes after 34 years after the last visit made by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, in 1981. The fact that he is coming here on a standalone visit makes the Indian community justifiably proud. We want this to be a momentous and memorable event.”
B.R. Shetty, member of the reception organising committee Namo in Dubai, said: “This is a dream come true for all Indian expatriates. We want this event to conclude smoothly so that both the Indian government and the UAE government can have reason to be proud of the Indian community here.”
Five ambulances – three for the stadium and two for the spillover crowd – have been deployed. A team of 55 health-care professionals comprising 30 doctors, 12 paramedics and 13 nurses will be in attendance. They will be split in teams of five attending to medical emergencies inside and outside the stadium, said gulfnews.com.
Over 1,000 volunteers wearing badges will assist the people, in addition to 340 private security personnel and a contingent of Dubai Police.
While radio stations will provide live updates, no live relay of the speech has been permitted by the National Media Council, it said.
The UAE is home to 2.6 million Indian workers.
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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