Officers of the telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) have expressed angst at various proposals mooted in the new National Telecom Policy (NTP), which is likely to be announced soon. Terming the Central Government move as a step to help private telephone operators at the expense of public money, BSNL officers and other employees have chalked out a nation-wide agitation on Thursday.
The 3.95 lakh employees of BSNL under the banner of various associations and unions will go on a token strike on Thursday. But phone services are unlikely to be affected. K.D. Sebastian, zonal president of the Sanchar Nigam Executives Association, said here on Sunday that it would not be a strike to inconvenience the public.
What fidgets the officers is the proposal for sharing of BSNL's rural infrastructure by private operators. They pointed out that the private operators had refused to provide their services in the rural sector despite their 10 per cent obligation stipulated in the National Telecom Policy of 1999, for reasons of lack of profit.
More: The Hindu.
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