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Kashmir violence:Toll reaches 11, curfew imposed
Srinagar:Curfew was imposed in Kashmir Valley on Sunday to maintain the law and order situation after 11 protesters were killed in violent clashes with security forces on Saturday, officials said.
Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hussain Samoon told reporters that curfew has been imposed in the entire valley from midnight to maintain law and order. He also appealed to the people to help authorities maintain peace.
The toll in bloody clashes between violent protesters and the security forces reached 11 after another injured succumbed to critical injuries in the hospital on Saturday.
The protesters who died in clashes on Saturday following the killing of top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani include Adil Bashir of Dooru Anantnag, Danish Ayub of Achabal Anantnag, Abdul Hamid Moochi of Arwani Anantnag, Khurshid Ahmad of Harwat Kulgam, Jahangir Ganai of Bijbehara Anantnag, Azad Hussain of Shopian, Aijaz Ahmad Thokru of Siligam Anantnag, Ashraf Dar of Kokernag Anantnag, Showkat Ahmad of Bijbehara Anantnag, Haseeb Ahmad of Khanabal Anantnag and Saqib Mir of Achabal Anantnag.
Additional Director General (CID) S.M. Sahai and Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Syed Javid Mujtaba Gilani told reporters that the violent mob on Saturday burnt four police stations, two minority police pickets and office of the tehsildar.
Besides, there were two incidents of weapon snatching and torching of several vehicles of the security forces.
The top police officers said three policemen were missing and 96 security personnel have been injured in Saturday’s clashes.
The number of civilian protesters injured is said to be at least 100 which include those suffered bullet, tear smoke and pellet injuries.
Violence erupted spontaneously in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam and later spread to other districts in the valley after security forces killed top Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and two of his associates in Bamdoora (Kokarnag) village of Anantnag district on Friday.
Wani was buried in his native Shariefabad (Tral) village on Saturday where nearly 40,000 people gathered defying curfew restrictions to attend his funeral prayers.
The separatists have called for a valley-wide shutdown till Monday against Wani’s killing.
The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti would meet in Srinagar on Sunday to deliberate on measures to ensure the law and order situation does not go out of hand and things are brought under control quickly.
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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