Feature
India to open Bogibeel Bridge for faster movement of army near China border
Dibrugarh: Bogibeel Bridge, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra river, is all set to be inaugurated on December 25 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which will facilitate faster movement of troops to Arunachal Pradesh, the country’s eastern-most state that shares border with China.
The foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 1997 by the then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. The construction, however, started only in 2002 when then (late) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the construction works.
The 4.98 km-long bridge will not only reduce the distance for the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam but also facilitate faster movement of troops and supplies to the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
The bridge, situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh and Dhemaji, spans the Brahmaputra river, and will connect Assam’s Dibrugarh town with Dhemaji.
The bridge is located just over 20 km away from the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and therefore, is expected to act as an alternative to the Kolia Bhomora Setu in Tezpur, in providing connectivity to around five million people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Chief Engineer of the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway’s Bogibeel Project, Mahendra Singh said 99 per cent of the bridge’s construction work has been completed. The rest of the work which includes ‘final finish’ would be done before December 20.
For faster movement of troops, India to open Bogibeel Bridge near China border:
Project Director of Hindustan Construction Company Limited (HCC), R.V.R. Kishore said the bridge is designed in such a way that it can withstand the movement of major battle tanks of armed forces.
“We have also used fully welded guarder technology and high quality copper bearing steel to increase the durability of the bridge,” Kishore said.
The HCC was awarded a contract to construct the superstructure of Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in November 2011.
“The bridge will give easy and direct access to upper Assam from the rest of the country through Brahmaputra’s north bank, in contrast to the current route through Guwahati in the south bank which is long. Due to its location, the bridge will be of strategic importance to India as it will significantly enhance India’s ability to transport troops and supplies to its border in Arunachal Pradesh,” Kishore said.
“Bogibeel Bridge falls in seismic zone-V. This zone has been the most vulnerable to earthquakes with magnitudes in excess of seven on the Richter scale. To offer good stability to the heavy spans (1700 MT), they are provided with seismic restrainers,” Kishore said, adding the bridge is designed to withstand tremors up to 7 and beyond.
In May 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, also referred to as the Bhupen Hazarika Setu. The bridge, connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, spans Lohit river-a major tributary of Brahmaputra, from the village of Dhola to Sadiya. At 9.15 km, it is the longest road bridge in India.
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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