Feature
89 killed in Madhya Pradesh twin blasts, CM orders probe
Jhabua (Madhya Pradesh): Eighty nine people were killed and over 100 injured, 20 seriously, when a cylinder blast at a tea stall packed with customers was followed by a massive blast that ripped through an adjoining building in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district on Saturday, police said.
An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the second blast that caused widespread destruction. Authorities did not comment on whether illegally stored gelatin sticks caused the explosion.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the explosions after Home Minister Babulal Gaur, who visited the spot, briefed him about the situation.
“The blast is a heart-rending incident and I have ordered a judicial probe into the blasts,” he said, adding that he would request the Madhya Pradesh High Court to appoint a judge to probe the blasts.
Inspector M.L. Gaur of the Jhabua police control room told,”Eighty seven people are dead, and the bodies of 60 of them have been identified.”
“Post mortems of all the bodies has been completed. There are eight women and three children among the dead,” he added.
Jhabua, located over 300 km from state capital Bhopal, is a tribal belt and on this fateful Saturday, a large number of labourers were milling around, waiting for buses.
The first blast took place at around 8.30 a.m. in the Petlavad area near the New Bus stand, quickly followed by a much bigger explosion.
The deafening blasts were so powerful that they reduced buildings to rubble and left many bloodied and wounded.
Home Minister Gaur said: “The blast took place due to gas cylinder explosion.”
On whether there were explosives in the building, Gaur said: “The matter needs to be probed and an order in this regard has been given.”
A witness said the ear-splitting explosions took place in quick succession, with the first taking place at the tea stall and the second bringing down the adjoining building.
The roar of the explosions was heard for kilometres.
“I heard the blasts and ran towards the spot. Dust hung over the area. Bodies were scattered all over the place. A girl was crying and she was rescued,” said Babu Lal, a witness.
Another local said the damage from the explosion at the tea stall was comparatively less than the severity of the destruction caused by the second blast.
Dazed locals scrambled to help the wounded, who shrieked in pain. Some of them died on the spot.
TV visuals showed the enormity of the blasts, with nearby buildings suffering extensive damage. People could be seen sifting through the rubble to extricate those who were buried.
“An explosion took place in a tea stall on Saturday morning. After that, another explosion took place in a two-storey building,” Jhabua Additional Superintendent of Police Sima Alva told IANS.
Alva added: “Many people were injured in the incident.”
There were unconfirmed reports that gelatin sticks, used in mining, were stored in the building as illegal mining takes place in the area.
Chief Minister Chouhan expressed grief but declined to comment on the cause of the blasts. He said that Chief Secretary Antony DeSa has been asked to look into the matter.
The chief minister also announced compensation of Rs.2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs.50,000 to the injured.
A team of experts from Indore reached Jhabua following the blasts.
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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