Uncertainty over cable TV service

GUWAHATI: Uncertainty looms large over cable TV service in Guwahati with the deadline given to operators by the state government-owned Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), asking them to pay Rs 25 for each electric pole a month for installing cable wires, ends on October 7.
Sources in the APDCL last week said after the Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators' Association (GGCTOA) approached the APDCL to extend the deadline, the company has decided to convene a meeting with the GGCTOA on October 22 to listen to their plea.But the APDCL is firm on its stand. "Till October 22, the APDCL will go soft on cable TV operators. After that they will have to pay the sum to APDCL," a source said.
A senior APDCL official said about 31,000 electric poles in Guwahati are used by cable TV operators for providing connections to subscribers without paying a single penny.
"Cable TV operators are using the electric poles for free since the service was launched in the city in the nineties. But, from now on, we don't want to provide free service to the operators," said a senior official of the APDCL.
He, however, made it clear that the operators will be allowed to use electric poles only as per the drawings approved by the company so that cables are not haphazardly connected in order to ensure safety of power workers and the public.
Chandra Mudoi, the public relations officer of the APDCL, told TOI that if the operators do not adhere to the directives of the APDCL, the company will not hesitate to disconnect the cables that are stringed through the electric poles.
The GGCTOA, on the other hand, said it is unable to get the approved plans from the APDCL to string up cables. "Rs 25 per pole per month is too much. If charged from the public, the monthly fee of cable customers will have to be hiked significantly," said secretary of GGCTOA, Iquebal Ahmed.
He said the GGCTOA will convene a meeting of all cable operators of the state on October 20 to chalk out plans for the future course of action if talks with the APDCL fail on October 22.