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Pilgrim critically injured in militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu: A pilgrim bound for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir was critically injured when militants on Saturday morning launched an attack on an army camp in Samba district, police said.
A resident of Uttar Pradesh was critically injured in the militant attack on the Mesar camp of 82 armoured regiment in Samba district. He was rushed to the Samba district hospital where doctors referred him to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu for specialised treatment, a senior police officer said.
“Militants early this morning attacked the Mesar camp of 82 armoured regiment in Samba district. They are using grenades and automatic gunfire to carry out the attack. Most likely, two militants are involved in the attack,” the police officer told.
“Reinforcements are being rushed to the camp to ensure that the militants do not escape,” he added.
Saturday’s militant attack came on the morning of the nine-day Navratri festival, and on a day when Muslims are celebrating Nowruz, or the Persian new year, in the state.
The Mesar camp was also attacked on September 26, 2013 by militants after they had attacked the Hiranagar police station in Kathua district. Twelve people had been killed in that attack.
On Friday, six people including two militants were killed in a similar attack on the Rajbagh police station in Kathua district.
Intelligence reports had indicated that four militants were involved in Friday’s attack, but only two had been killed.
Intelligence sources told IANS that they believe the Saturday’s attack is being carried out by the two guerrillas who survived in Friday’s attack after escaping from the spot.
The Mesar camp houses 82 armoured regiment which comes under the command of army’s 9th Corps that is headquartered in Yule Camp (Dharmshala) in Himachal Pradesh.
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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