Feature
Temple in Ramjanmabhoomi to host Iftar party for Muslims
Lucknow: To establish communal harmony in between Hindu and Muslim community people, a temple in Ayodhya district decided to organise ‘Iftar Party’ during ongoing holy month of Ramadan for people of Islam religion.
Approximately 500 years old the Saryu Kunj temple situated next to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid disputed site in Ayodhya will host Roza iftar party for large number of Muslim community people from within and nearby city this Monday.
Mahant Jugal Kishore Sharan Shastry, the chief priest of the Saryu Kunj temple said, “We want to give a message that there is no political motive behind the move; we just want to spread a message of peace and harmony from Ayodhya to the world.”
During Iftar party evening prayer (Maghrib namaz) was offered in premises of the Hanumangarhi temple where guest Rozedaars were distributed laddoos and traditional dates on white sheet arranged by temple management.
Muzammil, Urdu poet a resident of Ayodhya who will take part in the Saryu Kunj Iftar party said “Being a minority in Ayodhya, we have never felt unsafe; thanks to our Hindu brothers who never made us feel that we don’t have to worry about any danger here.”
Priests of Hindu temple will host ‘Iftar Party’ for Muslim gathering in Ramadan:
Priest Mahant Raghusharan Das said, “This was for the first time an iftar was held this temple efforts is made to bridge the gaps between the two communities. Hosting Iftar for Muslim brothers is a good opportunity to bring both the communities closer, so we decided to give a message of peace through this roza iftar.”
RSS affiliated outfit Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) in related to communal harmony will also organise an iftar party in Mumbai on Monday.
Not only this, MRM will hold iftar parties in Uttar Pradesh from Friday onwards too. MRM’s first party in UP is scheduled for June 8 in Bareilly, June 9 in Lucknow, June 11 in Unnao and June 12 in Kanpur.
Beside this Muslims wing of RSS will also hold parties in Kolkata on Tuesday, followed by series of such gatherings in various districts of Kashmir from Wednesday onward.
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.