BSNL TO CLOSE DOWN OPERATION ALONG INDO-BANGLA BORDER AREAS IN MEGHALAYA

Stating that it “makes no business sense to operate along the Indo-Bangla border areas,” the BSNL today informed that it would operate as a professional corporate unit and close down its services from commercially non-viable areas.

The public sector telephone company said, it has incurred huge losses over the years “running to lakhs” by operating along the Indo-Bangla border areas simple to comply with Central Government norms.

Chief General Manager, Northeast Circle I, DP Singh said that all telephone companies are directed by the Central Government to set up their services in such remote areas or pay penalty. However, most private telephone companies have stayed away from these non lucrative business areas and paid penalty instead.

“It makes no business sense to operate in these areas we would rather pay penalty than continue our services in these (Indo-Bangla border areas) areas,” Singh, whose telephone Circle oversees the operations in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, said. Singh added that it makes financial pridence to pay penalty than to run business in these areas.

Singh is somewhat justified in his approach   considering the Union Telecommunication Minster Kabil Sibal assertion that BSNL must be run as a private company to increase it revenue collection. 

The BSNL NE-I chief  that he would be writing to its headquarters immediately to withdraw from these non lucrative areas. “We are making huge losses from these areas. If you are asking me to operate as a corporate unit, we should also get an opportunity to decide where to operate and where not to, so that our business sustains,” he justified.

Meghalaya shares a 443 km long border with Bangladesh and much of these areas are remote. BSNL is the most important telephone service providers in these areas. 

People in these areas in the absence of Indian network are forced to use Bangladesh phones like Grameen Phones and others, which does have security implications. 



There are several instances that villagers cross over to Bangladesh and make International calls to different places of the State. BSNL officials here state that the Union Home ministry must use jammers in these areas to discourage Bangladesh telephones.

Singh however left it upon the central Government to decide on the tricky issue. “We (NE-I circle) would still operate in these remote areas provide that we are given subsidy and the centre make good of our losses,” he asserted.

The chief of the circle further informed that NE-I circle has been the second highest revenue earners in the country last year. During 2012-13 it has increased its revenue collection to Rs. 213.96 crore, which is an increase of Rs. 4.9 crore over the year 2011-12.

Despite the gains, Singh said BSNL NE circle I, like all BSNL circles in the country, is a loss making unit and the losses incurred last year was about 58 crore. “We have not assessed the losses of this fiscal, but we definitely would have reduced the margin with improved earnings,” he added.