Big cable TV suppliers hold Puneites to ransom

Big cable TV suppliers hold Puneites to ransom
SAIKAT DATTA

PUNE, MARCH 8: Amitabh's Kaun Banega Crorepati is going to cost a lot more. Caught between a determined State Government and the omnipresent cable TV owners is the much harried customer, footing a massive hike.

For customers hooked on their daily diet of KBC or going wild on National Geographic, it has been a jump of anything between Rs 80 and Rs 100. And they are crying foul with not a hope in sight. The city, already carved up between three large cable TV suppliers, is now hostage to prices dictated by the cable cartel.

Unlike other cities, where the small cable TV owner rubs shoulders with the bigger players in the fight for homes, the dynamics of the market help keep the prices low. But Pune misses out with three major players dominating the market.

What started as the Pune divisional commissionerate's move to enforce the entertainment tax became the nemesis for cable TV addicts. While the government was charging Rs 15, it was hiked to Rs 30 with instructions to collect tax from 1992. Control rooms were sealed and the city plunged into a blinked out cable-free existence.

``The tax was due for nearly eight years and after the high court order we started enforcing it,'' says Mohan Thombre, deputy commissioner. A move that has netted a whopping Rs 40 lakh in barely 10 odd days, says Thombre. So as the State Government continues its drive, the prices have taken an upward swing.

Privately the officials point out that the tax was levied eight years ago. ``They are just harassing the customers,'' said an official. The cable TV owners should have informed their customers about the tax when they started. Instead, today they are burdening the customers with the additional surcharge with hefty bills when they should have collected the amount in easy instalments all this time.''

``There were no pay channels or packages but the cable TV owners were still charging a heavy amount. The tax should have been included so that they would not have to pay a huge amount today,'' says an official. Also, while the present tax is Rs 30, logically it has been a hike of Rs 15. So, officials point out, if the customers is made to pay, then it should be an additional Rs 15.

A worry for most is that though they are paying the tax, there are no benefits. ``There is no price regulation or monitoring of cable services so why am I paying the tax,'' says a resident from Kothrud.

Defending the move, Anil Jadhav, general manager, Hathway Cable and Datacom Pvt Ltd, pointed to the recent hike by the satellite channels. ``Maybe this is a monopoly but then we have to do business,'' he says. With most channels coming as packages, he says that they are forced to cough up the additional amount. ``If there is very high competition then the competitive pricing could hurt our business.''

A logic that many are not ready swallow. ``Where were they all this time when the government had levied the tax,'' asked a harried customer from Aundh. ``And no additional channels have been added. I don't want to see so many channels if they are going to charge so much,'' he asks.

Jadhav throws up his hands: ``We don't have the technology. So even if a few customers want a package, then everyone pays.''

Vasant Patwardhan, owner of the Pune Associated Cable Network and president of the Union of cable owners, called the hike inevitable. ``The receipts that we issued all these years clearly mention that there were no tax being charged. With 80 channels, the prices are bound to go up,'' he said, planning a hike in April.