Vested interests cutting BSNL cables: Minister
Private telecom firms are cutting optic fibre cables of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to wean away business from the state-run company, Minister of State for Telecom Shakeel Ahmad informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Private telecom firms are cutting optic fibre cables of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to wean away business from the state-run company, Minister of State for Telecom Shakeel Ahmad informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
"Vested interests are cutting BSNL cables all over the country... In Bihar, I myself have handed over 203 FIRs against such incidents to the Chief Minister for action," he said replying to supplementaries.
Declining to name any particular company responsible for such acts, he said law and order is a state subject and concerned authorities should investigate and find out who was behind these acts.
The Minister appealed to members to help BSNL and pressurise their respective state governments to take action against those resorting to such practices.
Citing the example of Bihar, he said telecom cables to even senior state government officials were cut recently and BSNL had to provide them with wireless WLL handsets.
BSNL mobile services, Ahmad said, were working satisfactorily in rural areas. "However, inadequate power supply is affecting performance of the said service at some places."
He said a scheme has been launched by the Government to provide support for setting up 7871 towers in over 500 districts in the country for providing mobile telephony services in specified rural and remote areas where there is no fixed wireless or mobile coverage.
"A total of 2,12,304 villages are likely to be covered and a sum of Rs 587.88 crore is likely to be disbursed over a period of five years under this scheme," the Minister said.
Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
