লটারির নেশায় সর্বস্বান্ত হচ্ছে গ্রাম-বাংলার মানুষ

Joydeep Maitra, South Dinajpur: South Dinajpur district near the India-Bangladesh border. Starting from the district headquarters town Balurghat, block and municipal areas of Hili, Kumarganj, Gangarampur, Tapan Kushmondi, Harirampur, and Buniadpur, people of many villages are sitting on roadside tables across the city or thronging various lottery shops day and night. Sameer Dutta, a young man from Ward No. 11 of Gangarampur Municipality, was matching the number of game tickets in Gangarampur of South Dinajpur district on this day. In this way, everyone from small to big in the city or village even women are buying tickets constantly. All of them are buying tickets for 200-taka, 300 taka 500 taka and even 1200 taka to become millionaires overnight. And because of their addiction to buying this lottery, they hang out in different tea shops three times a day. Incidentally, there is constant turmoil and confusion with the wife to run the family at home, yet people from different parts of the district are addicted to buying lottery tickets. Lottery Babasayers are sitting with lottery tables in various places of 8 police stations of Dakshin Dinajpur district, starting from hospitals to market tea shops. And the village and city people of the district are all obsessed with the dream of becoming millionaires due to their addiction to winning this lottery. Milan Mandal, a local van driver of Gangarampur, said, “I work hard day and night to earn money, but I am gradually getting addicted to tickets.” The game is played three times a day and if you want to buy tickets these three times, you have to collect at least three to 400-500 taka, which is causing chaos at home, but I am still dreaming of becoming a millionaire, so I can’t give up that addiction. Niranjan Das, a resident of Mangalpur in Balurghat, the capital city of Dakshin Dinajpur district, a toto driver by profession, said, “I collect tickets regularly for 500 to 600 rupees every day. I have spent a lot of money on the lottery after this addiction, but no big prize has come to my forehead till now”. It is known that tickets are sold from different parts of the South Dinajpur district, and more than crores of rupees are sold. A lottery ticket seller in the district said, “I often sell Tk 30,000 tickets daily. I used to have a tea shop and now I have a ticket shop. Many people from different villages come to me to buy tickets. Due to the lottery addiction, many people in the village are getting drunk and still forget to buy tickets.” No, they”. People from different parts of Dakshin Dinajpur district are addicted to buying lottery tickets, spending a lot of money to buy lottery tickets and dreaming of becoming millionaires, but because that illusory dream has not been realized, a part of the district is practically intoxicated.