Feature
Yogi Adityanath says only BJP have guts to change name Hyderabad into Bhagyanagar
Hyderabad: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said if the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in Telangana, it will rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar.
Addressing a series of election rallies in support of BJP candidates in the state on the last day of the campaign, he said only BJP could turn Hyderabad into Bhagyanagar.
“Hyderabad will become Bhagyanagar like we did it in Uttar Pradesh where we changed Faizabad to Ayodhya and Allahabad to Prayagraj,” he told a rally in Bodhan town of Nizamabad district.
While campaigning in Telangana on Sunday, Yogi had said that if BJP comes to power, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi will flee Hyderabad like Nizam was forced to flee.
The BJP leader continued his attacks on MIM at the four meetings he addressed on Wednesday. “If BJP comes to power MIM, which wants to capture Bodhan will run away. They will not be seen anywhere. BJP will shatter their plans to create riots. We will expose them,” the UP CM said and alleged that MIM leader openly supported terrorism.
Yogi said those involved in anti-national activities and those who have a mentality to create riots were a hurdle in development, and they need to be exposed.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath says if BJP comes to power it will rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar:
He said while providing good governance and ensuring development in the country, BJP would strengthen nationalism to fulfill the dream of ‘Ram Rajya’.
Targetting Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Yogi said these parties wanted to work only for Muslims and can’t think beyond Muslim politics.
“Wherever Congress had its governments, there used to be riots, but after BJP came to power in those states, there were no riots. Every citizen is feeling secure.”
He alleged that all the three parties were doing slavery to ‘Nizam Shahi’ and unless Telangana gets liberation from ‘Nizam Shahi’ development was not possible.
At Karimnagar, he said if BJP comes to power, it will suppress ISI, naxalism and other anti-national activities with iron hand. He said if Congress, TDP and TRS had taken necessary steps, Karimnagar would not have become hub of ISI activities.
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.