Feature
Five Merchant Officers of Indian Navy abducted by pirates in African nation
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday asked the Indian High Commissioner in Nigeria to take the abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in the African nation two weeks ago, at the “highest level”.
The Minister also asked Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhay Thakur, to prepare a report over the incident.
“I have seen news reports about abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in Nigeria. I am asking Indian High Commissioner to take this up at the highest level with Government of Nigeria for their release. Abhay – Please take this up and send me a report. @india_nigeria,” Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet.
According to reports, it has been over two weeks since the sailors were abducted. Their families said that they have been unable to contact them for several days.
Earlier, Bhagyashree Das, wife of one of the abducted sailor Sudeep Kumar Choudhury, appealed to Sushma Swaraj on Twitter saying her husband has been kidnapped from the MT APECUS (IMO 733810) vessel.
Pirates abducted five Merchant Navy officers from Indian ship in African nation:
In a tweet on April 29, she wrote: “@SushmaSwaraj ma’am plz look into this matter. It’s been more than 10 days and yet no updates on this. We even don’t know where and how they are! We are eagerly waiting for your reply! We have faith and hope on you and I am sure you won’t disappoint us. Plz save my husband.”
In her another tweet on April 30 tagging BJP spokesperson and former MP from Odisha Baijayant Jay Panda, Bhagyashree wrote: “@PandaJay Sir Plz help us to save my husband, Sudeep Kumar Choudhury 3rd Officer Merchant Navy, who has been kidnapped along with 4 other Indians from vessel, MT APECUS (IMO 733810) anchored off Lagos, Nigeria on 19.04.2019. Require ur early & urgent intervention into this matter.”
The Indian mission in Nigeria wrote back to her saying the officials are in touch with the Nigerian Navy and police for the past 10 days.
The High Commission also said that the “concerned parties” (the abductors) have made initial contact.
On May 1, Bhagyashree replied saying it has been 12 days already and with no updates.
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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