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Cable operators begin two-day strike in Maharashtra

Viewers in various parts of Maharashtra, including Bombay, had to skip their favourite television shows on Tuesday as cable network operators began a two-day strike to protest against the government's decision to increase the entertainment tax.

The state government had been charging entertainment tax on common antenna television (CATV) since 1992, which cable operators claim to have been paying out of their own pockets.

Now, however, the government plans to double the amount to Rs 30 per mensem per subscriber, a spokesman for the cable operators said.

"The government has not been fair in allotting us the task of collecting taxes from the subscribers. If the subscribers do not pay, we have to pay it from our own pockets," Ravi Singh, president of the Federation of Cable Operators Associations of Maharashtra, said.

"Many a time when we fail to collect taxes, the local authorities come and seize our equipment, which is not fair," he added, alleging that the operators were subjected to a lot of harassment.

The cable operators had met Chief Minister Vilas Deshmukh and Revenue Minister Ashok Chavan on the issue. "Though the government assured us that the harassment will stop and a meeting will be convened to thrash out the issue, no deadline has been set for holding the meeting," Singh said.

Recently, the Bombay high court rejected a petition filed by the cable TV operators from Bombay and Pune challenging the state government's decision to increase the tax.

Following this, the government had levied Rs 15 per month in municipal and cantonment areas, Rs 10 in A class municipal areas and Rs 5 in B class municipalities per cable TV connection.

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