Feature
UP power employees go on indefinite strike
The employees in the power department of the Uttar Pradesh government began an indefinite complete work boycott from Monday in response to a call given by the UP Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti to protest against the proposed privatisation of the Varanasi discom.
The government said it has made all the preparations to deal with the agitation.
The UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) management had held talks with the Sangharsh Samiti leaders to persuade them to withdraw the work boycott call, but talks failed after the management rejected their proposal for effecting reforms in the energy sector without privatising it.
“After the UPPCL management turned down our reform proposal, we have asked all the power personnel to begin the full day work boycott from Monday as per the pre-declared plan,” said Shailendra Dubey, chairman of the All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF).
He accused the management of misleading the government and appealed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene into the matter to stem the growing unrest in the power sector.
UP Power Officers Association president, K.B. Ram and acting president, Avadhesh Kumar Verma on Monday met state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, state Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu and BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra and submitted memorandum to them seeking their support to stop privatisation.
“Essential services like hospitals have been exempted from the work boycott of the staff,” Verma said.
On the other hand, the state government has hardened its stand on the issue and has warned of strict action against protestors if they tried to disrupt the power supply.
Chief secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari held a video conference with divisional commissioners, district magistrates as well as senior police officers and issued directions to deal with the situation that may arise from the power staff’s proposed work boycott from Monday.
He asked them to ensure that the power supply was not disrupted in the state.
A government spokesman said all preparations were in place to deal with the protestors.
“The government has identified critical power stations for beefing up security around them and also chalked out an action plan to hand over power transmission and distribution system to alternative staff if needed.
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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