Feature
Situation under Modi worse than emergency: Mamata
Kharagpur: Claiming that India under the Narendra Modi government was going through a phase worse than the emergency period, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday asserted that her government will not implement the proposed amendments in the Land Acquisition Act.
Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress chief, urged the people to burn the “black ordinance” that was Monday approved by the Modi cabinet to amend the Land Acquisition Act to remove “procedural difficulties” in acquiring land for national projects and to “further strengthen” provisions concerning “affected families”.
“This government is bulldozing democracy across the country. The Narendra Modi government has created a situation that is worse than the emergency period,” said Banerjee addressing a public meeting at the Kharagpur College Ground here.
“The centre is amending the Land Acquisition Act which will allow them to snatch away your land at gun point. But I throw this challenge to them. So long as I am alive I will never allow any forcible acquisition of land. They will have to acquire land only on my dead body,” she said.
The Trinamool supremo who spearheaded the Save Farmland movement in Hooghly district’s Singur that eventually catapulted her to power in West Bengal, called for burning the “black ordinance”.
“How dare the government take away your right to land? I will never allow such a law in West Bengal. I urge you all to take a copy of the ordinance and burn it. Burn this black ordinance, we will never allow forcible acquisition of land in Bengal,” Banerjee asserted.
Banerjee also batted for her party state general secretary Shankudeb Panda who was Monday grilled by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Saradha scam, and accused the Modi government of unleashing the CBI to stifle the voices of protest.
“Panda was merely a salaried employee, but he is being targeted only because he is from the Trinamool. Whoever is trying to stand up, is either put behind bars or being shown the CBI or the ED,” said Banerjee.
“You can cow down others but your arrests and CBI threats will have no effect on Trinamool. We will never be cowed down,” asserted Banerjee.
Banerjee and her Trinamool have been against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)which in its probe of the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam, has netted four Trinamool leaders including Rajya Sabha members Kunal Ghosh, Srinjoy Bose and state transport minister Madan Mitra.
Banerjee also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its national secretary S.N. Singh who has been claiming that after her party leaders it was time for the chief minister to run from the CBI.
“Their leaders come here and say ‘bhag Mamata bhag’ (run Mamata run). These shameless people have no manners. They say Mamata Banerjee will have to be arrested. Is it that easy? Do they think it is like popping a lollypop,” asked Banerjee.
Accusing the BJP of selling the country through FDI, Banerjee urged people to stand up against the anti-people policies of the centre.
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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