Cable operators face threat of boycott

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, AUG. 20. In a rare display of unity, residents of three colonies in the city rose up in arms against a local cable operator and decided to boycott the cable service in protest against the `arbitrary' hike in the monthly fee. What more, they have even decided to go ahead and chastise residents who do not fall in line.

"The cable operators are working as a syndicate and trying to effect a fee-hike according to their own whims and fancies. This is nothing but brazen exploitation of the commonman's weakness for the only form of entertainment," residents of Venkataramana Colony, Naveennagar and Padmavathi Nagar fumed.

The decision is of immediate significance to all the cable television viewers in the city whatwith the operators, every now and then, demanding hefty hikes in the monthly tariff and shifting the blame onto the pay channels.

They unanimously resolved not to pay more than Rs. 150 per connection as against the cable operator's demand for Rs. 250. "This is atrocious. We will not pay a paisa more as there are a large number of houses located in the area and the basic servicing costs work out to the minimal," the Secretary of the Sri Venkataramana Welfare Association, Mr. B. Panduranga Rao, said.

"The cable operators are brazenly trying to exploit the viewers. Such indiscriminate hikes are not acceptable. We would rather watch Doordarshan or install a common dish antennae ourselves," a woman said. A circular listing out the proceedings of the meeting was also sent to all the residents.

The operators' hinging on various aspects such as the entertainment tax, monthly maintenance, increase in electricity bills and so on did not cut any ice. Nor did their claim about A.P. Transco proposing to introduce `pole tax' shortly.

"There is no clarity at all," Mr. Rao pointed out. "We do not know how much the cable operators pay the television channels. There is no way to police them either," a resident aired his helplessness. He suggested that it was for the pay channels to come out into the open with a clear picture, listing out the rates. "We cannot rely on the local cable operators."

It's the same story everywhere, be it West Marredpally, Himayatnagar, Padmaraonagar or Nacharam and Malkajgiri.

"The operators' plea that the hitherto free-to-air television channels like Star and Zee turning pay channels had mandated the hike holds no water. The cable operators invariably show less number of connections on record than what they originally have and siphon off the rest of the money," they pinned down the cable operators.

Without mincing words any further, the residents of the three colonies in Khairatabad resolved to have their cable connections done away with rather than bowing down to the demands of the cable operators. Indeed, a move that is worthy of emulation everywhere. Any takers?

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