Feature
Man performes ‘Baahubali’ stunt, dies after jumping from waterfall
Mumbai: As the monsoon season comes, tourist spots around the city starts buzzing with the tourist from the city and even outside too in Mumbai. However mumbaikars frequenting to these forts and waterfalls for fun trips. Waterfall at Mahuli fort in Shahapur was the scene for boyish stunts being performed by men who wished to imitate a scene from the movie Baahubali. This has led to several injuries and even deaths.
The latest victim is a Bhiwandi based businessman Indrapal Patil, 27, who visited Mahuli on July 14th with his friends. In a statement given to media, Patil’s brother Mahendra said, “We were informed by the police that he fell from a height and died. It was shocking for all of us, even more so for his wife.”
The Patils feel that it was too reckless a stunt to be performed by their son. Mahendra said to media reporter, “My brother was pushed. It must have either been a planned attack, or someone might have accidentally or playfully pushed him.”
But the police have a different story to tell. According to PI BH Pawar of Shahapur police station, “Eyewitnesses informed that the deceased jumped – rather than fell – from a height, tried to land on his feet, missed and went underwater. His friends got him out. It appears that these leaps are inspired by the jump in the movie Baahubali.”
Patil is not the only person who perished while performing the stunt. As per senior PI Mahesh Shetye of Shahapur police station, “Inebriated or sober, men have a tendency to perform stunts. The climb itself is so rough that one wrong step can throw them tumbling down.”
Shetye told media that there have been two cases of accidental deaths at the fort, and at least one injury every two to three days . He said, “Every year during monsoon, we have our hands full with these incidents. Last month a man died of a heart attack while he was trying to climb up to the waterfall’s source.”
In an attempt to thwart people from performing these death-defying stunts, the police has written to the forest department about the problem and are hoping for some assistance from their end. Shetye told Mumbai Mirror, “We have done everything, from trying to make people aware to deploying police bandobast. The youngsters find a way of creeping past us. We have written to the forest department to shut the gates that lead to the waterfall.”
At their wits end the police have decided to make the popular tourist spot a no-entry zone. “We can’t let anyone come to the area, as we don’t know who will try to imitate the ‘Baahubali jump’. We prefer people missing out on enjoying nature’s beauty, than people leaping to their deaths.” PI BH Pawar 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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