Feature
Diwali more polluted this year than last says CPCB
This year’s Diwali was more polluted than last year’s due to heavy fireworks and unfavourable weather conditions like low temperature and wind speed, triggering a spike in particle pollutants, a report said on Friday.
The report said that this year’s Diwali, which was on November 7, was as polluted as Diwali in 2016. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report also shows a rise in harmful gases such as Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur dioxide (SO2).
“Particulate concentrations were slightly higher this Diwali as compared to last Diwali (2017),” said the CPCB report. It, however, adds that since in 2017 Diwali was observed on October 19 as against November 7 this year, the meteorological conditions, which govern the dispersion of pollutants, were different.year’s
“Compared with the average Particulate Matter during November 1 to 7 in 2017 with the same period this year, the city average particulate concentration for Delhi is lower in 2018,” the report pointed out.
Apart from fireworks and unfavourable wind speed, stubble burning this year had more effect on Delhi’s air quality around Diwali, against last year’s celebrations (October 19).
On Diwali, there were a total 4,204 fire incidents compared to 1,702 in 2017.
“Diwali-day data shows that the PM10 and PM2.5 values have increased this year compared to 2017. However, the data are similar to Diwali day of 2016 which was observed on 30th October,” said the report.
It added that in 2017, the wind directions on Diwali day were east and southeast while in 2018 it was north-west, which might have added pollutant load from stubble burning.
“Contribution of stubble burning in overall PM2.5 concentration during Diwali this year has been estimated at 10 per cent.” said the report.
The report found that apart from the Dwarka subcity, the pollutants — PM2.5 and PM10 — were high almost everywhere else when compared to 2017. Other pollutants — CO, NO2, SO2 — varied at different places compared to 2017.
The PM2.5 on Diwali 2017 was 638 and 496 units at Janakpuri and Parivesh Bhawan, while this year, these values were 988 and 900 units respectively.
The CO levels at Dilshad Garden were 983 units in 2016, 1,423 in 2017 and 1,441 in 2018. At Shadipur, the NO2 levels were 58 units in 2017 against 94 in 2018.
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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