In a reflection of the deep divisions among cable operators and control room owners, a call for a shutdown in Mumbai to protest against the ongoing drive in the western state of Maharashtra to collect entertainment tax arrears was largely ignored in the city.

The call was given by the newly formed Union of Cable Operators and Cable Room Owners (UCOCRO), after a marathon meeting on Tuesday.

The attempt of UCOCRO to bring cable operators under one umbrella has clearly failed and few operators seem to buy the argument that the way to protest against the recent directive from the government to get tough on defaulting operators is through a united shutdown.

The matter has been hanging fire for over six months following the doubling of entertainment tax per connection per month from Rs 15 to RS 30 in municipal areas and from RS 10 to RS 20 in other parts of the state. It may be recalled that operators went on strike over the issue in August 2000 after which a committee representing operators, the government and consumers was set up to resolve the issue.

The fractious nature of cable industry can be seen from the email sent to us by a leading Mumbai cable operator in response to the report on the strike call posted on Tuesday:

"Do not put false and stupid statements about the cable TV industry, [total band(h) in Maharashtra]. If Atul Sharaf says there will be no transmission in Maharashtra, can he shut off his own network? Leave the whole maharashtra, and you unnecessarily put (out) a false statement.

"Just because of the few people who want to be leaders they do all this nonsense. Any sensible businessmen will not go for it. If the government imposes taxes it has to pass it on to (the) subscriber. Band(h) is not the solution. As it is operators are not paying 100 per cent tax of their subscriber but on the increase they can increase on their total subscriber base.

"You said there will be total band(h) on Tuesday midnight. All wrong and bullshit."

The Star Network on Tuesday announced its new subscription package of RS 30 per month.

A company release said the hike worked out to an increase of RS 6 per subscriber.

Justifying the release, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea said: "We would like to hold on to our subscription rates, but because of the underdeclaration of subscribers by the trade we had no option but to increase the prices. We get paid for only a small fraction of the homes that receive cable and satellite channels."

Yash Khanna, head corporate communications, said that only one sixth of actual connectivity was being declared.

When queried as to what sort of response he expected from the hike he said Star was bracing for a possible blackout in Calcutta where RPG had 75 per cent C&S penetration while rival Zee Telefilm‘s Siti Cable had the remaining 25 per cent. As to what would be the response from other centres, he said they would have to wait and see.

Earlier, when informed of the impending hike, Shamim Shaikh of Mumbai-based independent MSO Seven Star Satellite Network had said there was no question of their accepting the new package. "None of the operators will accept these new rates and except for Hathway (where Star has a 26 per cent stake) it will probably lead to a situation that Star will switch off our feeds," Shaikh said.

Cable operators and control room owners in the western Indian state of Maharashtra are on a collision course with the state government threatening to terminate services indefinitely to protest against the state‘s tax collection drive. A total shutdown was set to go into effect as of Tuesday night after a marathon meeting in Mumbai which had representation from all across the state.

At the time of posting the report, the cable feeds were on in most parts of the city although in areas of central Mumbai like Sion it was off.

Earlier, the news was that the action would be deferred for two days to allow time for the issue to be resolved amicably.

Mumbai-based Live Satellite Media promoter Atul Saraf, who is on the committee of the Union of Cable Operators and Cable Room Owners (UCOCRO), said after the meeting that there was no question of backing down till their demands had been met.

Operators switched off feeds in many towns and cities across the state on Monday itself. Pune, Miraj, Sangli, Kolhapur and Pandharpur witnessed the first closures after revenue officials sealed control rooms in these places for non-payment of entertainment tax arrears.

Matters came to a head after a recent directive from the government to get tough on defaulting operators following which certain operators were arrested and control rooms seized. The issue has been hanging fire for over six months following the doubling of entertainment tax per connection per month from Rs 15 to Rs 30 in municipal areas and from Rs 10 to Rs 20 in other parts of the state. It may be recalled that operators went on strike over the issue in August 2000 after which a committee representing operators, the government and consumers was set up to resolve the issue.