Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 28 JULY: Members of All Unions and Associations of BSNL (AUAB) on Wednesday staged a hunger strike pressing for a charter of demands including steps for launching the state-owned telecommunication company’s 4G services across the country.
The protesters took out a protest rally from their office at Post Office More in Krishnagar and marched to Nakshtra Bhawan, the General Manager’s office where they observed a symbolic one day fast.
The 4G services were launched by private players in the country in 2016. “But, till date, the public sector telecom operator has not been given 4G licence to compete with its rivals,” Amit Khan, district secretary of Sanchar Nigam Executive Association (SNEA) said.
Mr Khan also said, “The Centre is trying to kill us to help Reliance Jio that has benefited a lot since its launch. But let them realise that we provide services to the people during natural calamities anywhere from Kashmir to Kanyakumarika where private players have no infrastructure. So, we demand immediate roll out of 4G services along with the preparation of 5G services.”
“The fact that people still trust us is enough reason for the Centre to permit us to roll out 4G services. While the private telecom companies are set to launch 5G, we are still being denied 4G,” he said.
Mr Khan also told Hummingbird News that the prevailing conditions at BSNL were due to the “failure of the management,” in reviving the telecom company; it was further met with “conscious roadblocks” created by the Narendra Modi – led Central Government, he alleged.
“The Centre is forcing BSNL to procure 4G equipment from domestic vendors, thereby causing unwarranted delay in the rolling out of the services. This is even so when private players’ equipment too has been reportedly purchased from foreign vendors,” he said.
Moreover, the delay in launching 4G services is only accompanied by the slow process of monetising the assets of BSNL’s surplus land parcels, according to him. “At the same time, a huge amount of Rs. 39,000 crore to be paid by DoT (Department of Telecommunications) to BSNL remains pending,” Mr Khan said.
All of this showed the “non-seriousness” of the Modi government to rescue the dwindling BSNL, alleged Mr Khan. The employees thus staged a hunger strike across the country to put pressure on the government to pay heed to their demands, he said adding “Our movement against the Centre will be a success as all unions have participated in the agitation.”
Tags: #BSNL #RelianceJio #4Gservices #AUAB #HungerStrike
