Feature
Law-and-order situation force EC to cancel Anantnag bypoll
New Delhi: The poll governing body Election Commission (EC) has cancelled the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll which was likely to be held on May 25th due to poor law and order situation because of lack of adequate central forces in Kashmir valley.
The EC had earlier planned to hold the bypoll on April 12 but had postponed it to May 25th, citing similar problems in the Kashmir.
The election governing body in its 10-page order issued late last night said, “in view of the prevailing ground situation and non-availability of sufficient security forces, the Commission is of the considered view that peaceful, free and fair poll is not feasible on May 25, as scheduled, though some political parties have asked for the same.”
The bypoll was necessitated following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti in July last when she became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
The EC said it had also considered postponing the polls to another date but it was not a feasible option.
It said the holy month of Ramzan, the Amarnath Yatra and the upcoming tourist season meant postponing the poll was not an option.
Reacting to the order, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “It’s depressing to see how far we have regressed in Kashmir from the highs of the Assembly polls of 2014 to the cancelled election of 2017.”
EC postpone Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll, likely to be held on May 25th
The state government was of the view that if bypoll is held in May, it would affect anti-terror operations which are necessary for return of normalcy.
It also said politicians and families of the police personnel were being targeted to create a sense of fear ahead of the election.
School and panchayat buildings, used as polling stations, were being burnt to sabotage the electoral process.
The Commission said while 687 companies (68,700 personnel) of central forces were sought, the Home Ministry sanctioned 250 companies (25,000 personnel) for Anantnag, which are insufficient.
Besides the 250 companies, 54 companies (5,400 personnel) are already in Anantnag as part of the pre-poll arrangement.
During a video conference, local police officials told the EC top brass that the situation in Anantnag is “scary”.
The bypoll will now be held when the situation is conducive, it said.
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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