Cable services remain hit in Punjab, raids on to arrest Fastway owner

Aman Sood

Patiala, December 10

Residents in many parts of the state are at the receiving end following a cable war in Punjab to gain monopoly over the lucrative trade, which has always been controlled by the ones in power. Even as the Punjab Police launched a manhunt for the ‘absconding’ owner of Fastway Transmissions Gurdeep Singh Jujhar and others associated with it, people are the worst sufferers.

Disruption has become A routine affair

Calls made to the service provider have failed to address concerns. They have been citing missing cables owing to theft as the reason for the disruption in service, which they claim will be restored by Monday. This has now become a regular affair. A Sanaur resident

Sources said that in many parts of the state people had complained of disruption in cable services, even as police teams conducted multiple raids. On Saturday and whole of Sunday, majority of the cable network in the state remained offline as cable operators complained of wire theft at multiple places.

In Amritsar, Mohali, Ferozepur, Fatehgarh Sahib and some other districts too, the cable services were disrupted. Even the cable operators working with Fastway allege harassment and pressure to resume services or repair damaged wires. “We are summoned at odd hours, made to stand outside police stations and even abused,” alleged few operators, preferring anonymity.

“I was eager to watch the India-South Africa T20 match, but since yesterday evening the cable TV services remain disrupted,” said a Sanaur resident. “Calls made to the service provider have failed to address concerns. They have been citing missing cables owing to theft as the reason for the disruption in service, which they claim will be restored by Monday. This has now become a regular affair,”

he added.

Cable operators in many parts of the state are protesting, stating that the police were harassing and targeting them and trying to sabotage the entire system of cable networks throughout Punjab. Over 12 FIRs against cable operators linked with Fastway have been registered in the past few weeks, but none against the ones stealing cable wires or disrupting services, they added.

The AAP leadership in Punjab has denied any role in the ongoing cable war. “AAP government doesn’t intervene in anyone’s business. Politicians like the Akalis and Congress should be the last to accuse anyone of controlling any trade,” they said.

Meanwhile, the Congress, BJP and the SAD have blamed AAP of “using all kinds of tactics to control the cable business.”

Civil Lines SHO Harjinder Singh Dhillon said despite raids the accused were managing to evade arrest. “It is an attempt-to-murder case in which the victim claimed that he was shot at as he was working for a rival cable company,” he stated.