Feature
Rains in Chennai again, 325 dead as waters recede
Chennai: Heavy rains battered Chennai again on Friday evening just as life began to limp to normalcy amid persisting power cuts and food shortages here and three other Tamil Nadu districts where floods and downpour have claimed 325 lives.
Thousands of military personnel and social activists were engaged in a major operation of supplying food, water and blankets to thousands trapped in water-logged neighbourhoods — and rescuing the still marooned.
There was relief as water levels in the main reservoirs and rivers began to fall. But numerous areas were still under water, residents across the city told.
The rains have caused widespread destruction in the districts of Chennai, Cuddalore, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu. By all accounts, the state capital bore the brunt.
Officials said they expected the death toll to rise once the water levels go down, revealing drowned bodies.
Fourteen patients admitted at an intensive care unit of MIOT Hospital near here died due to power failure following floods, an official said.
Prithivi Mohandas, the hospital’s managing director, told the media that lights and other equipment ceased to work due to power failure. The hospital’s back-up power system also failed.
Power supply has been cut off in flood affected areas in Chennai and the neighbourhood.
As rains halted on Thursday and early Friday, some shops opened in parts of flooded Chennai including Mylapore and Teynampet. Electricity supply was restored in some areas.
Most areas were, however, without power. Drinking water was in short supply and so were basic essentials including milk and vegetables.
Officials at the power utility told that electricity supply would be restored as the waters — which have turned virtually the whole of Chennai into a lake — recede.
Skeletal public transport was operational from Friday morning in some areas. Auto-rickshaws plied but commuters complained that they were being fleeced by drivers.
Residents said supplies of essential commodities were difficult to come by.
“Water-logging continues. The only mercy is that there are no fresh rains,” said Vishwanath, a south Chennai resident.
He spoke too soon. By evening, the rains began to lash again, worrying both residents and the authorities.
The water flow in the Adyar river has come down as the quantum of surplus water released into the river from Chembarambakkam lake fell.
Several voluntary organisations and NGOs supplied food, water bottles and blankets in flood-hit areas.
The army, navy and air force continued rescue and relief work in the more heavily flooded Kanchipuram district.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh visited Chennai on Friday to review the rescue and relief operations.
The Southern Railway has announced special trains to Tirunelveli, Rameswaram and Howrah from Chennai Beach station in a bid to clear the large number of train travellers who have got stranded in the city.
Communication lines — landlines and mobile connections — are still disrupted. The official web site of the Tamil Nadu government crashed on Friday.
In heavily flooded areas like Tambaram, people were crowding rooftops and waved frantically to get relief materials dropped from helicopters.
Chennai – where schools and colleges have been shut – has seen extensive water logging, with water gushing into homes, causing misery and acute problems to residents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday undertook an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas and announced Rs.1,000 crore as immediate relief.
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, however, demanded Rs.5,000 crore.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has described the situation in Tamil Nadu as “alarming” and promised all help to the state government.
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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