Feature
Tight security, restrictions in Srinagar on Modi’s visit
Srinagar: Restrictions were imposed on Saturday in parts of Srinagar ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kashmir.
A senior police officer said restrictions have been imposed in old city and uptown areas of Srinagar falling under the jurisdictions of Khanyar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, M.R. Gunj, Safakadal, Kralkhud and Maisuma police stations.
Razor fitted concertina wire coils were placed across traffic crossings on the main roads in the areas where restrictions were imposed.
Senior separatist leaders including hardliner Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan, and Asiya Andrabi were placed under preventive detention.
Separatists had called for a parallel rally on Saturday in Srinagar barely half a km away from the venue of Modi’s public rally.
Authorities had conveyed to Geelani that permission for the rally was declined because of the prime minister’s visit the same day.
Unprecedented security arrangements were seen in Srinagar city on Saturday as police personnel and paramilitary central reserve police force (CRPF) troopers wearing bullet proof vests and holding automatic weapons took up positions along roads and at important installations.
All roads leading to Sher-e-Kashmir cricket stadium were sealed for vehicular movement.
Passage on these roads is regulated through special passes issued to security forces and other participants.
Modi is scheduled to arrive here at 11.30 a.m., and will address the public rally at noon.
He will fly to Chanderkote in Ramban district at 1 p.m. where he will inaugurate the 450 megawatt phase second of Baglihar power project.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the four laning of the Udhampur-Bannihal stretch of Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
All shops, public transport, other businesses and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar city.
Train services from Bannihal town in Ramban district to Baramulla town in Kashmir Valley have also been suspended for the day.
Only one-way traffic will be allowed from Srinagar to Jammu on the national highway on Saturday.
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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