Feature
23 dead in explosion at Punjab Cracker Factory
CHANDIGARH: 23 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured, some of them seriously, when a powerful blast took place inside a three-storey firecracker factory in Batala town of Punjab on Wednesday afternoon. Located on the Samadh road, the illegal factory was being run in a residential area.
Some factory workers are still believed to be trapped inside the building rubble. “The immediate priority before the district administration was to rescue the people and to provide medical aid to the people who have been injured” Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur Vipul Ujjawal said. According to eyewitnesses, the blast took place around 3:30 and people came out of their homes when they heard a loud noise.
The blast was so powerful that it also damaged four nearby buildings which include a Gurudwara, a computer centre and a car garage. The explosion was heard kilometres away, local residents said. The explosion damaged vehicles parked nearby. Eyewitness Sukhraj Singh said one car landed in a drain because of the impact.
President Ram Nath Kovind expressed grief. “Saddened to learn about the loss of lives due to an explosion at a firecracker factory in Batala, Punjab,” he tweeted. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too offered condolences. Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol also said he was saddened by the tragedy.
Saddened to learn about the loss of lives due to an explosion at a firecracker factory in Batala, Punjab. Condolences to bereaved families impacted by this tragedy and wishing an early recovery to those injured #PresidentKovind
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 4, 2019
Meanwhile, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry into the Batala firecracker factory blast. ADC (Batala) has been asked to conduct the inquiry into the tragic incident.
Captain Amarinder Singh also directed the Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa to immediately rush to the spot to oversee the relief and rescue operations.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lac for the family of deceased and Rs. 50,000 for the seven severely injured, who were referred to the Amritsar Medical College. He also announced Rs. 25,000 for those who sustained minor injuries.
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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