Feature
Bihar DM says to villagers ‘sell your wife if you can’t build toilet’
Bihar: The District Magistrate, Kanwal Tanuj of Aurangabad district in Bihar, stir up a controversy after saying that ”those men who cannot build a toilet for their wives should sell them.” While addressing a public gathering on a cleanliness drive in Jamhore village.
“Due to lack of toilets, women get raped and harassed. It only costs Rs. 12,000 for the construction of the toilet. Is 12,000 more than anyone’s wife’s dignity? Who can let her wife get raped in return of Rs 12000? If this is your mentality then go and sell your wife. Those who cannot build toilet should sell or auction his wife,”Tanuj had said on Saturday.
Apparently on a drive to promote Swachh Bharat campaign (Clean India drive), district magistrate of Bihar’s Aurangabad Kanwal Tanuj ended up telling a poor villager that if he did not have money to build a toilet at home, he should sell his wife.
DM Kanwal Tanuj had gone to meet the villagers in Aurangabad district to spread awareness about building toilets and to tell them why open defecation was bad for everyone. But, he stirred a huge controversy with his uncharitable remarks.
The DM was seen addressing a gathering at a village in the district where he tried to link toilet with the dignity of women. He said, “Save the dignity of your women if you can. How poor are you? Raise your hands and tell me if the value of your wife is lower than Rs 12,000. Listen to me first. Don’t raise your hands.”
Then Kanwal Tanuj said, “Which man would say that take the dignity of my wife and give me Rs 12,000? Is there anyone like that?”
Responding to his open queries thrown at the villagers, one from the audience said that he did not have enough money to build a toilet at home. “Sir, I don’t have the money to build a toilet,” the man said.
DM Kanwal Tanuj responded by saying, “I will talk to you. If that is the case then go and sell your wife. If this is the mentality you have then go and sell your wife. So many people talk about advance payment, they get advance and then spend it on useless things. ”
In Septmber, 2016 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had launched two schemes as part of his Saat Nishchay or Seven Resolves of state government. The schemes were Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal and Shauchalay Nirman, Ghar Ka Sammaan.
The schemes were part of larger Clean India drive. The schemes were cover all towns and villages of the state by the end of 2019.
Under the Shauchalay Nirman, Ghar Ka Sammaan, a beneficiary is given an aid of Rs 12,000 by the state government for building toilets to end open defecation. DM Kanwal Tanuj was addressing the gathering about the same scheme.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.