Feature
At penultimate bathing day devotees crammed at Sangam ghats on Maghi Purnima
Allahabad: Lakhs of devotees today thronged at ghats by chanting religious slogans of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Ganga Maiya Ki Jai’ with followers took dip at Sangam the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers here on the auspicious occasion of Maghi Purnima.
The penultimate bathing day of the over 50-day-long Kumbh Mela, Maghi Purnima marks the end of the month-long penance period of Kalpwasi pilgrims.
“Kalpwasis are usually regarded the most faithful pilgrims of Prayaga Kumbh Mela. They vow to live an austere and minimalist life on the banks of the Ganga for a month.
“After today’s holy bath they all will head back to their respective homes,” explained an old ascetic.
A nip in the air failed to deter the overwhelming crowd of devotees seen taking the holy dip as early as 4 am, despite vehicle restrictions in the vicinity of the makeshift township of Kumbh Nagri.
“I have seen that the crowd picks up later in the day. So it makes sense to take the dip early in the morning,” said Aditya Langar from Pathankot, who was busy drying up his clothes after taking the dip.
Forty nine special trains and 2,500 buses were pressed into service by the administration to ferry devotees from faraway places to the Kumbh on Maghi Purnima.
Lakhs of devotees take holy dip at Sangam on auspicious occasion of Maghi Purnima:
Though not a shahi snan, Maghi Purnima like Paush Purnima and Maha Shivratri is called a ‘parv snan’ and is part of the six important bathing days during the Kumbh.
The belief is that a dip in the Ganga on the auspicious day washes away sins.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday declared the day Maghi Purnima a public holiday.
According to the administration, over 1.50 crore devotees are expected to take the holy dip by the end of the day. As many as 40 bathing ghats have been prepared to manage the crowd.
Over 1.07 crore pilgrims had taken dip in Sangam area on Paush Purnima on January 21.
The grand festival, which commenced on Makar Sakranti (January 15), will mark the last bathing day on March 4 on Maha Shivratri.
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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