Feature
Swachhta Doot go extra mile for maintaining cleanliness at Kumbh Mela
Allahabad”: Going beyond the call of duty seems to be the mantra for ‘Swachhta Doot’ (messengers of cleanliness) who work late into the night to ensure ‘Bhavya Kumbh, Divya Kumbh’ (Grand Kumbh, Divine Kumbh) is reflected both in letter and spirit.
“For the last one month or so, I along with 11 others are engaged in keeping the premises of Kumbh Mela clean. We ensure cleanliness in and around few eateries set up in Arail area of the city. Our main job is to ensure that there is no littering in the Mela area,” Ravi Kumar, a Swachhta Doot, said.
On an average, a Swachhta Doot works for nearly 10-12 hours every day, going beyond their 8-hour shift. The job pressure is more on the major bathing days when there is a heavy influx of devotees who throng the place from far and wide, he said.
“A few days back, I was sleeping when my phone rang and I was asked to immediately report to work,” Kumar, who hails from Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, said.
He, however, said Swachhta Doot like him “feel happy when visitors praise the cleanliness of Kumbh”.
More than one lakh toilets have been installed this time for maintaining cleanliness and ensuring open defecation-free Kumbh.
Solid waste is to be collected in 20,000 dustbins and transported out of the Mela area.
Swachhta Doot going beyond duty to maintain cleanliness at Kumbh Mela:
According to the official website of the 2019 Kumb, “More than 15,000 sanitation workers, 40 compactors and 120 tippers have been pressed into service for disposal of waste”.
Apart from this, more than 2,000 ‘Ganga Praharis’ or ‘Swacchagrahis’ have been engaged as foot soldiers for keeping the Kumbh Mela area clean.
Shyam Lal, who has also been deployed as a Swachhta Doot, said they have been given individual identity cards.
“Generally we are on 8 hour shift, but the work goes beyond 10 hours, and sometimes it touches 12 hours,” he said.
Lal was of the opinion that installation of LED lights at the Kumbh has proved to be quite handy as they can spot the garbage from a distance.
“At times we hear from visitors that the Kumbh Mela this year is cleaner than those in previous years. It makes us happy and satisfied that people are liking our work,” Raj Karan, another Swachhta Doot, said.
He added that people have become more aware about cleanliness and that makes their work relatively easy.
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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