DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: It has been a year since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) put the Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communications Regulations - 2007 (TUCCR) in place but the National Do Not Call (NDNC) Registry that prohibits Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) to telephone users proved to be ineffective. There are now over 225 million telephone subscribers across the country but only about 7.5 million of them have registered with the NDNC. Trai estimates that telemarketers make more than 10 billion calls in India every year, leaving the mobile phone users, in particular, a harassed lot. As per the mandatory requirement under the TUCC regulations, 12183 telemarketers in the country registered with the NDNC but still phone users continue to receive unwanted calls day in and day out as new companies, banks and insurance firms keep mushrooming. It normally takes 45 days for an NDNC registration to become active, once a request is placed with the telecom service provider, and block all Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC). But in many cases the UCC never stops. Telecom service providers aren't really helpful in dealing with complaints against UCC by telemarketers, though as per regulation fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 20,000 could be levied for different levels of violations. "Yes, we do get complaints about telemarketing calls but the number is minimal. Since tracing such calls and cross-checking with the NDNC registers consumes time, subscribers do not generally persist with their complaints," a senior manager of a telecom company tried to reason. With the NDNC not being of much use, subscribers often tend to vent their ire at the telemarketing callers. When one caller repeatedly disturbed him on behalf of a bank offering a "personal loan," a senior IAS officer had threatened that he would get her arrested if she called again. When a telemarketer wanted to know "when is it the right time to speak to you," another IAS officer retorted rather politely: "Amma, no time is right for you to talk to me." Most harassed are mobile users who have fancy or VIP numbers. Telemarketers randomly pick up such numbers and keeping calling without even knowing the identify of the call receiver. "This irks us more. They pick up our number from somewhere and keep calling. I have registered with NDNC at least four times but to no avail. The messages and telemarketing calls are unabated," complained a software executive Nidhi. Phone users feel strict enforcement and prompt disposal of complaints by telecom service providers could arrest the problem. As the regulator, the onus is thus on Trai to rein in service providers as well as telemarketers.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
In Case of Emergency (ICE)
DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: A public-interest campaign called ICE is fast picking up across the country. ICE is aimed at creating an awareness among mobile phone users the need to store in their phone memory card a particular phone number of their closest family members or friends who could be contacted in an emergency situation. ICE precisely stands for In Case of Emergency. Almost everyone these days carries a mobile phone with many names and numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than the phone user, knows which of these numbers belongs to his\her closest family members or friends. "If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill suddenly, the people attending on us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know whom to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the right contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) campaign," says a campaign mailer that is currently being circulated on the Internet. ICE is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by majority of the population, all one needs to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ICE. An unknown paramedic hit upon the ICE idea after he found on many an occasion that there were always mobile phones with patients at the scenes of accidents but did not know which number to call. He, therefore, thought it would be good if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose and coined ICE. In an emergency situation, emergency service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialling the number one has stored as ICE. For more than one contact name, one can simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3. A great idea that might make a difference and help save lives! "Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today," the e-mail exhorts. "It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind in peace. ICE will speak for you when you are not able to," the email adds. Students and software professionals -- even some journalists -- have now taken it upon themselves to take the campaign forward and ultimately make ICE a unique national emergency code. Hail the move.
Hyderabad: A public-interest campaign called ICE is fast picking up across the country. ICE is aimed at creating an awareness among mobile phone users the need to store in their phone memory card a particular phone number of their closest family members or friends who could be contacted in an emergency situation. ICE precisely stands for In Case of Emergency. Almost everyone these days carries a mobile phone with many names and numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than the phone user, knows which of these numbers belongs to his\her closest family members or friends. "If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill suddenly, the people attending on us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know whom to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the right contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) campaign," says a campaign mailer that is currently being circulated on the Internet. ICE is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by majority of the population, all one needs to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ICE. An unknown paramedic hit upon the ICE idea after he found on many an occasion that there were always mobile phones with patients at the scenes of accidents but did not know which number to call. He, therefore, thought it would be good if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose and coined ICE. In an emergency situation, emergency service personnel and hospital staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialling the number one has stored as ICE. For more than one contact name, one can simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3. A great idea that might make a difference and help save lives! "Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today," the e-mail exhorts. "It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind in peace. ICE will speak for you when you are not able to," the email adds. Students and software professionals -- even some journalists -- have now taken it upon themselves to take the campaign forward and ultimately make ICE a unique national emergency code. Hail the move.
'Babus' know their "Babu" well
DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Are the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Andhra Pradesh really peeved at what former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu allegedly remarked against them?Not really. For, they know the reality and what's exactly happening over the past four years in the state bureaucracy. After all, Chandrababu Naidu used to be dubbed the "Babus' Babu" during his nine-year stint as the Chief Minister since he maintained such a good rapport with the bureaucrats. So, the IAS men didn't really take the issue seriously though only the Mahbubnagar district Collector obliged the television news channels with an "on record" sound byte. While senior Collectors simply brushed the issue aside when scribes confronted them, the juniors looked puzzled. The Chief Minister's Office seized the initiative and spread word that many Collectors, during their one-on-one interaction with Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, expressed their "serious displeasure" over "Naidu's remarks." The Congress was also quick to react and castigate the former Chief Minister, with ministers K Rosaiah and Aanam Rama Narayana Reddy taking the lead. But IAS officers, as such, remained unfazed. "There is no smoke without fire, isn't it," a senior bureaucrat, who has been newly-elected as an office-bearer of the AP IAS Officers' Association, questioned, referring to the alleged remarks of Naidu. Bureaucrats are not cut off from the world, so to speak, and know pretty well the "ins and outs" of the administration. It has become rather an open secret that postings of IAS and IPS officers are coming with a certain "price tag" in the last four years. Any bureaucrat will tell who is calling the shots in the government in respect of the postings. "We will only be degrading ourselves if we speak about the happenings, particularly in the Chief Minister's Office, when it comes to the postings. Don't many of the incumbent district Collectors know how they landed in that job," the senior bureaucrat quizzed. Of late, there have been allegations of corruption against many IAS officers, including some "juniors" who hitherto used to be immune to such things. "Lobbying" has unwittingly become the buzzword with even the junior officers, who should get postings in the routine course, being forced to please the powers that be to land in a job. Two very latest examples, related to the posting of two IAS young officers, bear testimony to the goings-on in the government. By the way, the Invisible Crusaders -- the bunch of young IAS men trying to fight corruption from within -- have been keeping a watch on all happenings and preparing a dossier on the recent bureaucratic postings. They will strike at an opportune time.
YSR's anxiety showing up
DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is clearly anxious as his flagship Indiramma housing programme seems to be heading nowhere.
Though otherwise he sought to "pamper" the district Collectors on various issues, the Chief Minister could not, however, hide his anxiety over the tardy pace of implementation of Indiramma housing programme, particularly in the urban areas.
At one stage during the review of Indiramma housing programme at the two-day conference on district Collectors, the Chief Minister reportedly vent his ire at Nizamabad and Khammam Collectors for lagging in land acquisition, a senior official who took part in the meeting said. Other Collectors, however, were spared though the progress of phase-I and phase-II of the housing programme was still way below the target. He directed the Collectors to step up land acquisition, particularly in urban areas, by paying
"Barring the housing issue, there was nothing much about other things. The Chief Minister was visibly happy over the state of affairs and patted the Collectors for the 'good work' they have been doing," one senior Collector pointed out. The officers were also happy that the conference, unlike the previous ones, was a "cool" affair.
This being the crucial election year, Rajasekhara Reddy was apparently playing it safe in dealing with the Collectors who, according to him, were the "eyes and ears" of the government. He virtually spoke in a tone that suggested his government's fate was in the Collectors' hands, one district Collector who was attending his fifth conference, observed.
The ministers, who too were part of the conference, had no complaints either as they were "happy" with their respective Collectors.
The Chief Minister had usual instructions to the Collectors on issues like drinking water supply, Arogyasri, filling up of ration dealers, effective implementation of crop insurance scheme and the like.
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is clearly anxious as his flagship Indiramma housing programme seems to be heading nowhere.
Though otherwise he sought to "pamper" the district Collectors on various issues, the Chief Minister could not, however, hide his anxiety over the tardy pace of implementation of Indiramma housing programme, particularly in the urban areas.
At one stage during the review of Indiramma housing programme at the two-day conference on district Collectors, the Chief Minister reportedly vent his ire at Nizamabad and Khammam Collectors for lagging in land acquisition, a senior official who took part in the meeting said. Other Collectors, however, were spared though the progress of phase-I and phase-II of the housing programme was still way below the target. He directed the Collectors to step up land acquisition, particularly in urban areas, by paying
"Barring the housing issue, there was nothing much about other things. The Chief Minister was visibly happy over the state of affairs and patted the Collectors for the 'good work' they have been doing," one senior Collector pointed out. The officers were also happy that the conference, unlike the previous ones, was a "cool" affair.
This being the crucial election year, Rajasekhara Reddy was apparently playing it safe in dealing with the Collectors who, according to him, were the "eyes and ears" of the government. He virtually spoke in a tone that suggested his government's fate was in the Collectors' hands, one district Collector who was attending his fifth conference, observed.
The ministers, who too were part of the conference, had no complaints either as they were "happy" with their respective Collectors.
The Chief Minister had usual instructions to the Collectors on issues like drinking water supply, Arogyasri, filling up of ration dealers, effective implementation of crop insurance scheme and the like.
Pending Inquiry, perpetually!
DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Revenue authorities in Andhra Pradesh have been sitting over magisterial inquiries in many districts for over a decade now. This has resulted in piling up of 507 cases between 1998 and 2008. A magisterial inquiry is a statutory requirement in cases related to death of persons in police custody or lock-up as well as incidents of police firing and exchange of fire between police and extremists. Karimnagar district tops the list with over 181 such pending cases, mostly related to exchange of fire between police and extremists. Warangal, another naxalite-affected district, comes next with 65 pending cases followed by Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and West Godavari 33 each. The Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission guidelines clearly stipulate that magisterial inquiries have to be completed within four months but revenue authorities seem to drag their feet in conducting the inquiries in time. Though the state government has been repeatedly directing the respective district Collectors to step up the inquiries and complete them soon by according priority, the cases seem to head nowhere. Of the 507 magisterial inquiries pending, 54 cases are registered by the NHRC and 12 by the AP State Human Rights Commission. "These inquiry reports are crucial to establish whether an officer is guilty of wrongdoing or whether any person died, in custody, of natural reasons. The delay in completion of inquiry may eventually deny justice to the affected party," a senior official pointed out. In Guntur district, for example, five cases of custodial\lock-up death were reported way back in 1998 but so far the magisterial inquiry reports into these incidents have not been submitted. Two more cases of same nature in 1997 and one in 1999 in Guntur district have been pending inquiry. Karimnagar district, which once used to be a hotbed of naxalite activity, had seen 75 incidents of police firing or exchange of fire with extremists in 1998, 30 in 1999 and 25 in 2000. After a lull for six years, 15 incidents were reported in 2007 and five so far this year. In all these cases, the magisterial inquiries have not been completed, official sources said. Since this is a "very important issue" concerning human rights, the state government is worried about the fallout of non-compliance of Supreme Court and NHRC orders. Now, the government has issued fresh directions to the district Collectors of Karimnagar and Warangal, where the pendency is very high, to pay personal attention and complete the magisterial inquiries at the earliest so as to avoid "adverse comments by NHRC, SHRC, courts and also the media."
Hyderabad: Revenue authorities in Andhra Pradesh have been sitting over magisterial inquiries in many districts for over a decade now. This has resulted in piling up of 507 cases between 1998 and 2008. A magisterial inquiry is a statutory requirement in cases related to death of persons in police custody or lock-up as well as incidents of police firing and exchange of fire between police and extremists. Karimnagar district tops the list with over 181 such pending cases, mostly related to exchange of fire between police and extremists. Warangal, another naxalite-affected district, comes next with 65 pending cases followed by Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and West Godavari 33 each. The Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission guidelines clearly stipulate that magisterial inquiries have to be completed within four months but revenue authorities seem to drag their feet in conducting the inquiries in time. Though the state government has been repeatedly directing the respective district Collectors to step up the inquiries and complete them soon by according priority, the cases seem to head nowhere. Of the 507 magisterial inquiries pending, 54 cases are registered by the NHRC and 12 by the AP State Human Rights Commission. "These inquiry reports are crucial to establish whether an officer is guilty of wrongdoing or whether any person died, in custody, of natural reasons. The delay in completion of inquiry may eventually deny justice to the affected party," a senior official pointed out. In Guntur district, for example, five cases of custodial\lock-up death were reported way back in 1998 but so far the magisterial inquiry reports into these incidents have not been submitted. Two more cases of same nature in 1997 and one in 1999 in Guntur district have been pending inquiry. Karimnagar district, which once used to be a hotbed of naxalite activity, had seen 75 incidents of police firing or exchange of fire with extremists in 1998, 30 in 1999 and 25 in 2000. After a lull for six years, 15 incidents were reported in 2007 and five so far this year. In all these cases, the magisterial inquiries have not been completed, official sources said. Since this is a "very important issue" concerning human rights, the state government is worried about the fallout of non-compliance of Supreme Court and NHRC orders. Now, the government has issued fresh directions to the district Collectors of Karimnagar and Warangal, where the pendency is very high, to pay personal attention and complete the magisterial inquiries at the earliest so as to avoid "adverse comments by NHRC, SHRC, courts and also the media."
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