J&K booth operators demand better margin from BSNL

SRINAGAR: Public Call Office (PCO) operators in Jammu and Kashmir have threatened to go on indefinite hunger strike demanding better margins from telecom firm BSNL, as mobile services have made their business redundant.

Over 1,500 STD and PCO booth owners have already shut shop since the introduction of mobile services in the border state in 2003, the Association of STD and PCO Owners said on Thursday.

"We will go on an indefinite hunger strike and stage dharna if the BSNL authorities and the Central government do not meet our demands to make the operation of an STD booth or PCO a profitable business once again," association president Swaran Das told reporters here.

While 1,500 operators have shut shop, he said the remaining 7,000 booth owners too were on the verge of going out of business as they were not earning enough to feed their families even one square meal.

The revenues have fallen since the introduction of mobile services in the state, he contended.

He said STD booth operators were given the business of selling pre-activated mobile SIM cards, which has been stopped now. "Although BSNL announced that it will give five per cent commission on the sale of SIM cards and recharge cards to the STD operators, we are still being paid at the previous rate of three per cent," Das said.