Feature
Landslide buries mountain village in China’s Sichuan Province, 15 killed
Beijing: At least 15 people were killed and over 100 others remained missing after a mountain village was today buried under tonnes of rocks following a massive landslide in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the worst such disaster in the country in recent times.
The early morning landslide, which came from a mountain in Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, engulfed 62 homes and a hotel in Xinmo Village in Maoxian County.
A side of a mountain collapsed following the landslide, blocking a 2 km section of a river and burying 1,600 metres of road.
The Maoxian government said on its Weibo social media account that 15 bodies were pulled from the rubble while 120 people remained missing.
State media had earlier reported that 141 people may have been buried but later the figure was revised.
The landslide was apparently triggered by a mild earthquake in the area, an expert told state-run CGTN.
According to reports, the village which was built in a valley surrounded by mountains experienced one more landslide after the initial one in the morning.
Nearly 2,000 rescuers, including soldiers, frantically scoured through the mud and rocks to find survivors.
Armed police and experts in geology, hydrology and surveillance joined the rescue and risks assessment group with equipment including drones and laser scanners.
It is the biggest landslide in this area since the Wenchuan earthquake that killed 87,000 people in 2008 in a town in Sichuan.
A family of three was pulled out alive from the rubble, the Mao County government said on its official Weibo page.
The couple and their baby are being treated at the Mao County People’s Hospital, the post said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have ordered all-out efforts to save people buried in the landslide.
Xi has ordered the State Council, China’s Cabinet, to send a work team to the site.
“Authorities must make maximum efforts to reduce casualties and prevent secondary disasters,” Xi said.
The prime minister has ordered an investigation into the reason for the landslide.
The provincial government has launched the highest level of disaster relief response and sent rescue teams to the site.
Pictures posted by the People’s Daily newspaper showed bulldozers moving earth and large boulders as the rescue efforts continued.
“In the entire village I could only see one home. The rest had been totally buried by rocks,” said a local official Li Yuanjun.
Reports from the area said some people stuck under the mud and rock used mobile phones to call emergency lines.
“A woman shouted and dozens of troopers heard her and asked her questions. She could only use a stone to tap in response,” Wang Yongbo, a firefighter, told TV channels.
Roads in the county were closed to all traffic except emergency services.
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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