Feature
Uttar Pradesh gears up to host millions for Kumbh Mela starting from January 15
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has made extensive arrangements to host millions of people in the city of Prayagraj (earlier known as Allahabad) for the 2019 Kumbh Mela starting on January 15, a minister said here on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Rajesh Aggarwal told media here that an amount of Rs. 2,800 crore was earmarked for the Kumbh Mela.
“The state government is endeavouring to provide a devotional and spiritually charged atmosphere to pilgrims coming for the Kumbh. Over 5000 NRIs (non-resident Indians) and people from over six lakh villages of India will participate in the Kumbh,” Aggarwal said.
“The state government earmarked an amount of Rs 2800 crore for Kumbh Mela 2019. Besides, development works of Rs 4300 crore is also being carried out. Works related to roads, bridges, drinking water schemes, electricity, tourism, and so on have been done,” he added.
It will be the largest temporary city of the world, Aggarwal said.
The Mela area has over 1.22 lakh toilets, 250 km of new roads, 22 pontoon bridges and over 40,000 LED lights. The Ganga Pandal set up at the venue has a capacity of 10,000 people.
“Following the efforts by the state government and the cooperation extended by the Ministry of Defence, the devotees coming to the Kumbh will have an opportunity for the first time in the last 450 years to pray at ‘Akshay Vat’ and ‘Sarasvati Koop’.
UP government made extensive arrangements to host millions of people for Kumbh Mela:
“Keeping this in view, the state government has beautified all the places directly or indirectly linked to the Kumbh,” he said.
Aggarwal said that the state government is making efforts to realize the vision of making the Kumbh a representative of India’s inclusive culture.
“The objective of this event is to make efforts to familiarise the world with the high quality life, conduct and thoughts of Indian culture,” he said.
Ardh Kumbh is held every six years, while the Maha Kumbh Mela comes after 12 years. The Maha Kumbh is held at Prayagraj while Ardh Kumbh is organized on a rotational basis in the four riverside cities of Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nasik and Ujjain. Magh Mela is held every year.
Under the Kumbh related works, 671 people welfare projects have been completed during the last one and a half years under the Prayagraj Mela Authority.
“For smooth traffic movement, the state government has constructed nine flyovers in the last one and a half years. The Bridge Corporation has created a record by constructing a 4-lane wide and 1325 metre long flyover on a single pillar in 14 months in front of the High Court in Prayagraj city area,” he said.
Ambassadors of around 71 countries have witnessed the preparations for this grand event, Aggarwal added.
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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