Feature
Congress, BJP flay Odisha government over Nabakalebar infra work
Bhubaneswar: The opposition Congress and BJP on Friday lashed out at the Odisha government over the “tardy” progress of work related to the upcoming Nabakalebar festival and demanded details of the money allocated for infrastructure projects.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal asked the opposition parties not to play politics over the religious festival.
Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said the government had “completely failed” to upgrade the infrastructure ahead of the Nabakelabar festival in Puri on July 18.
He said even as the Nabakalebar rath yatra was just a few days away, the Naveen Patnaik government had failed to ensure basic amenities and other infrastructure for the smooth conduct of the festival.
The government expects about 50 lakh devotees during Nabakalebar, which is an ancient festival during which the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan are replaced by a new set of idols.
Stating that the government had limited itself to only conducting review meetings, Harichandan said it had been extending its own deadlines for the completion of the Nabakalebar work.
“First, it said all infrastructure projects would be completed by March 31; then the time was extended to May 15. Realising that the work would not be completed by this time as well, the state government extended the deadline to June 30. Now, it has set a fresh deadline of July 10,” the PCC president remarked.
Senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra also demanded that the government publish the details of the funds allocated for the infrastructure projects.
He also lashed out at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his “silence” over the Brahma Parivartan fiasco and alleged that the ‘third floor’ (Chief Minister’s Office at the Secretariat) was directly involved in the mismanagement.
Mohapatra demanded the scrutiny of all call records of mobile phones of Daitapatis, who were inside the temple on the day of the Brahma Parivartan, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Suresh Mohapatra and CMO officials.
“Once the call records of Daitapatis, SJTA chief and CMO officials are scrutinised, everything will automatically come to light,” said Mohapatra.
The BJP leader said the state government was trying to make the Nabakalebar festival a “Naveen Yatra”.
He reiterated the party’s demand for the suspension of the SJTA chief, clarification from the chief minister and a judicial probe into the Brahma Parivartan mismanagement, and blamed Naveen Patnaik for the Nabakalebar fiasco.
Reacting to the allegations of the opposition parties, the ruling BJD said the state government would release a white paper on the expenditure incurred on the Nabakalebar festival at an opportune time.
“The infrastructure work related to the festival is going in the right direction and about 99 percent work has been completed. The government will release a white paper on the expenditure. The opposition parties should not indulge in politics over the festival,” said BJD spokesperson Pratap Dev.
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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