Feature
Angry farmers destroy tonnes of Potatoes outside CM house, Governor Residence
Lucknow: In a protest to show their angriness towards Uttar Pradesh government, the farmer today destroyed tonnes of potatoes outside Chief Minister House, State Assembly and Governor Residence in the state capital.
The Yogi Adityanath-led government might have announced a Minimum Support Price (MSP) to help out the about 25 lakh farmers of the state, but it does not seem to be good enough. On Saturday morning, the state capital woke up to see thousands of tonnes of potatoes strewn on city roads.
Disgruntled farmers brought tonnes of potatoes loaded in tractor-trolleys, trucks and dumped them on roads, right in front of the CM House and UP State Assembly.
After a record production of 155-160 lakh metric tonne potatoes in Uttar Pradesh during 2016-17, the state government after its cabinet meeting in April last year, had decided to buy the produce at a rate of Rs 487 per quintal. The procurement, of nearly one lakh metric tonne potatoes, was to start immediately.
CM Yogi Adityanath had also reached out to the central government and asked Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh to ask other states to procure potato from UP.
Adityanath also wanted potato crop from the state to get prominence for procurement in the Centre’s E-National Agricultural Mart.
Tonnes of Potatoes destroyed by angry farmers in front of CM House, Governor Residence:
Speaking to media persons, farmer leader, Harnam Singh said, “The government might have announced a basic MSP but the procurement is next to nil. Also, the support price of Rs 487 per quintal is not enough.”
“They have not taken into account the money paid by farmers to store their produce in the cold storages. In such a situation farmers are forced to dump their produce on roads.”
Singh added that the government was only interested in handing out figures about their help to farmers. “Figures don’t help or provide any relief to farmers.”
“Farmers sit on dharna in this cold weather and no one cares. If the government does not wake up now, it will face consequences,” he said.
BJP Spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi responded to the claims and said, “UP was one of the first states to announce a minimum support price for potato. But yes, I admit that it might not be enough. We are working towards addressing this issue.”
On other hand, SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar has said that strict action will be taken against those who littered with streets with potatoes.
“The police have identified the people and the vehicles they used to do this,” he 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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