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Yogi govt allows Durga Puja celebrations in UP amid strict COVID-19 guidelines

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4 years ago

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The Yogi Adityanath government has finally allowed Durga Puja celebrations with established safety protocols under the pandemic.
Durga Puja pandals can now hold religious or cultural events in the open, provided all guidelines for Covid containment, like social distancing and the wearing of masks is followed.
A restriction on the number of people has also been imposed on events taking place in an enclosed space, where only 50 per cent of the hall’s capacity and up to a maximum of 200 people, will be allowed to attend.
The new guidelines will come into force from October 15 and Navratri starts from October 17.
The government decision has unleashed a wave of joy among the Durga Puja committees who have already plunged into making preparations for the festival.
“We spent the entire Thursday night, drawing up plans for the Durga Puja celebrations because we have less than a fortnight to go. We are thankful to the Chief Minister for allowing us to hold the Durga Puja celebrations,” said Anand Banerjee of a Durga Puja committee in Jankipuram area.
It may be recalled that the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had urged the Chief Minister to allow Durga Puja pandals to be held in the state.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and leader of opposition in the state Assembly, Ram Govind Chaudhary, had said the ban on Durga Puja pandals was a “direct attack on the people’s fundamental right to freedom of religion.”
Congress leader Jitin Prasada had said that the BJP cannot be selective when it comes to freedom of religion and they cannot use the pandemic as an excuse to differentiate between people. “If Ram Lila can be allowed with a restricted audience, why not Durga Puja?” he asked.
Meanwhile, cinema halls and multiplexes will also be allowed to reopen from October 15 with 50 per cent capacity.
In its list of regulations under the new unlock phase, picked up entirely from the Centre’s guidelines, Uttar Pradesh government said on Thursday night that all schools and coaching centres can start holding classes in a phased manner from October 15.
However, online teaching will not only be encouraged, but also prioritised. Even if classes are held physically, a student who wants to attend it virtually will be allowed to do so. In fact, no child can be forced to attend classes physically without the consent of the parents. The schools, which decide to hold classes, will have to follow the SOP as finalised by the Education Department.
The universities and institutes of higher education funded by the government will open based on a decision taken by the Department of Higher Education in consultation with the Home Ministry. The private universities and institutes can allow the Ph.D and post-graduate students who require laboratories to visit the campus.
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Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

Published

2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

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PureWin Online Betting

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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