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UP Govt ordered probe into Gorakhpur child death tragedy
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday evening broke his silence over the death of atleast 33 infants due to lack of oxygen. The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday suspended the principal of the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, As a private supplier of oxygen to the hospital snapped supply due to payment arrears.
A probe led by the chief secretary also been ordered, said state Health Education Minister Ashutosh Tandon. “Why was there a delay in payment? Why was the supply of oxygen stopped? These aspects will be probed by the panel. Till then, we are suspending the principal of Baba Raghav Das Medical College with immediate effect for his irresponsible act,” he added.
Gorakhpur is Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s parliamentary constituency. He visited it last Wednesday and chaired a review meeting, before visiting several hospitals.
On Saturday, Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) alleged 60 children had died in Gorakhpur over the past five days and said they were sending teams to the town, about 750 km northwest of state capital Lucknow. State Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh, however, said 60 children had died since last Monday due to various causes and not only lack of oxygen.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said PM Narendra Modi was monitoring the situation and Union Minister of State for Health, Anupriya Patel, would take stock. Patel will also visit the hospital. Adityanath’s official Twitter handle said Union Health Minister J P Nadda had also enquired about the developments.
Sources said the private oxygen supplier to the BRD Medical College had outstanding bills of over Rs 68 lakh, and had written several letters to officials concerned, seeking clearance of payment.
This is the first major setback for the Adityanath government, set to complete five months in office, and roll out its farm loan waiver scheme on August 17. A former chief secretary, on the condition of anonymity, said, “It is apparent that the new CM is yet to form his core team of officials to pilot flagship projects and policies.”
His government was on the receiving end of criticism from within the National Democratic Alliance as well as an outraged Opposition. Bharatiya Janata Party Unnao Member of Parliament (MP) Sakshi Maharaj said, “The person, who switched off the oxygen supply on the pretext of non-payment of dues, was responsible for the incident.” Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said this was an “hour of test” for the UP CM.
The Opposition parties slammed the government, calling the death a result of “criminal negligence”. They also demanded the resignation of state Health Minister Siddharth Nath.
Former Chief Minister and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “The government must have been aware of the crisis. We have received information that as children were dying, their families were being taken out of the hospital in a hush-hush manner.”
A six-member team, led by the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Ram Govind Chaudhury, will submit a report on the Gorakhpur incident to the party chief by Sunday.
BSP chief Mayawati, said, “Issues like tiranga (Tricolour), Vande Mataram, madarsa, anti-Romeo squads which divert the attention of the people are of more importance to them (the BJP).” A three-member BSP team was rushed to Gorakhpur.
The Congress, too, sent a team, led by MP Ghulam Nabi Azad, state party chief Raj Babbar and former Union minister R P N Singh. They visited the hospital and have demanded a report from the state government.
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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