Feature
Boarding School in Lucknow where girls and boys share same room
Lucknow: In the state capital Lucknow a Private boarding school allows girls and boys to share same rooms. With students crammed up in damp rooms located in a dingy double-storey building, stinking toilets, lack of open spaces and basic infrastructure, this boarding school in Lucknow’s Bazarkhala is a school for namesake.
On this school two separate FIRs related to sodomy, rape and causing death due to negligence have been registered.The first case was lodged by a Class 5 boy’s father, who alleged that his son was sexually harassed by a 13-year-old boy during his stay at the boarding school.
The complainant also alleged that the boy fell ill after sexual harassment and died during treatment at KGMU’s trauma centre on August 7.
Another FIR was lodged by a mother of Class 4 girl, accusing senior boys of raping her daughter. In both the FIRs, the parents alleged that sexual harassment took place because the school administration allowed senior boys to reside with junior girls and boys in the same room.
The school came into the spotlight on Thursday when enraged over alleged incidents of sexual harassment of junior students by seniors; hundreds of people ransacked the premises of the school.
The school authorities at the private boarding school make all girls and boys, aged between 6 and 13 years, share rooms, which parents believe could be the reason for alleged cases of sexual harassment.
After being informed about the case by the police, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Praveen Mani Tripathi inspected the school. Talking to a Newspaper, he said inspection revealed that the students were made to sit and live in very unhygienic conditions, exposing them to the risk of contracting diseases.
“As per the records, the school only has recognition to conduct classes till eighth standard. It doesn’t have permission to run a boarding school. We have issued a notice to the school authority. Its recognition will be cancelled as basic norms have been violated,” he said.
Inspector of Bazarkhala police station Sujeet Dubey said so far the probe revealed that 29 students, including three girls, are enrolled in the school being run by staff comprising just four persons 73-year-old owner-cum-manager Bal Govind, his 68-year-old wife, a teacher and a cook.
Dubey said the classes were conducted in four rooms on the ground floor while the remaining five-six rooms were used as residence for the students, the manager and his wife. As many as four-five students share one room.
However, following the allegations of sexual harassment, the school authorities have handed over most of the students to their families. The parents of three-four students are yet to arrive to take them home.
“As per the records, the school only has recognition to run classes till eighth standard. It doesn’t have permission to run a boarding school. We have issued a notice to the school authority. Its recognition will be cancelled as basic norms have been violated,” –Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Praveen Mani Tripath
Inspector of Bazarkhala police station Sujeet Dubey said the girl has been sent for medical examination and further probe will be based on the basis of its findings. He further said the statements of the school authorities, staff and other children are yet to be recorded even as the manager claimed that the girl stopped coming to school since March.
The inspector said “In case of the boy’s death, medical records stated that he died due to high fever and low blood platelet count.” The boy’s body was buried before registration of the FIR.
He said legal experts are being consulted in the matter and if required the boy’s body will be exhumed for post-mortem examination. While no arrests have been made so far, the school staff has been told not to leave the city without police permission, added the inspector.
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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