Feature
‘India became global superpower’ because of Lord Ram so temple is must
Lucknow: An Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister said Monday that once a Ram temple is built in Ayodhya, it would “restore the glorious history” of the town, asserting that the public sentiment across the country was “in favour” of building it.
“Whether it is the government or any other institution (in the country), everyone must respect the public sentiment. And, the public sentiment, which is prevailing across the country, wants that the construction work of the Ram temple in Ayodhya must begin at the earliest,” Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary told media person in an interview here.
“As soon as a grand Ram temple is built in Ayodhya, it will restore the glorious history of Ayodhya. Subsequently, lakhs of tourists will visit the place and it will eventually give a boost to tourism in the temple town,” the state religious affairs, culture, minority welfare, Muslim waqf and Haj minister said.
Claiming that the entire world was keeping a watch over the developments, Chaudhary affirmed that the country “owes its identity to Lord Ram”.
Building temple in Ayodhya is essential as Lord Ram made India global superpower:
He said the aim of the recently-organised ‘Deepotsav’ in Ayodhya was to send a message across the globe that “people should learn a lesson from the life of the Maryada Purushottam, who made India a global superpower”.
“Lord Ram is a personality, which is incomparable — be it as a son or a warrior. Lord Ram is our role model… It was due to Lord Ram that India became a global superpower,” Chaudhary said.
The minister claimed that during the Mughal rule, British rule and even after decades of Independence, no attention was paid for the development of Ayodhya.
“It was only after Yogi Adityanath became the UP chief minister that attention was paid for the beautification of Ayodhya and to enhance its grandeur. In the last 100 years, no work was done for development of Ayodhya and it was virtually left to its own fate.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.