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| Thursday,
August 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Promised
grant eludes
MC Chandigarh, August 22 The Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr
P.D. Shenoy, handling Chandigarh affairs, during a visit in May this year, made a promise that an additional grant of Rs 5 crore would be sanctioned in the budgetary grant for 2001-2002. This he had said while chairing a meeting of municipal councillors and officials of the MC in May at the UT Guest House. The promise itself is mired in controversy. The minutes of the meeting recorded by the Administration make no mention of such a promise by Mr
Shenoy. On the other hand, the minutes of the MC specify the promised additional grant-in-aid of Rs 5 crore. The MC, in a letter written to the UT Finance Secretary recently, pointed out that the minutes of the special meeting held under the chairmanship of Dr
P.D. Shenoy, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, clearly indicated that Mr Shenoy had in his final speech assured that the civic body would get an additional grant-in-aid of Rs 5 crore in the current financial year. The minutes of this meeting held with the MC officials and councillors were also sent for perusal and record. The Administration had, in its letter dated May 18, said the minutes of the said meeting had nowhere on record the announcement of Mr Shenoy pertaining to an additional grant of Rs 5 crore t o the MC.
According to sources, the Administration was yet to react to the MC’s reply. Mr Shenoy, during his visit to the city, had agreed to give this additional grant in the budgetary grant for 2001-2002 and had promised that the same would be sanctioned shortly. Sources reveal that he had not issued any directions to the authorities concerned in this regard. The then Congress Mayor, Mr Raj Kumar Goyal, had through a memorandum, impressed upon the need for these additional funds to enable the fund-starved MC to discharge its liabilities. It was pointed out that after the MC came into existence in 1996, some of the development works, which were earlier being handled by the UT Administration were transferred to the MC along with the staff, but no additional sources. The civic body had also been entrusted with the departments of horticulture, public health, medical officer of health, B & R, fire, and management of community centres and janj ghars, for which funds were needed. Their other liabilities included payment of salaries to employees, electricity bills of waterworks, streetlight bills, contingency payment and civic amenities towards the public. It had been further submitted that the MC was mostly dependent on the grant-in-aid being given by the Administration, though from time to time efforts were made to generate part of revenue from its own resources. The councillors had also sought this additional grant in the MC budget. |
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...And now yoga for
cops Chandigarh, August 22 According to information, the police authorities have hatched a plan to impart yoga classes to 154-odd personnel posted in the traffic wing of the police. The UT Inspector-General of Police, Mr B.S. Bassi, said, “This will help the traffic cops, who have to bear the growing vehicular pollution, to ease their stress in dealing with an ever -increasing number of vehicles, besides ensuring their physical well being. “ It may be noted that the preliminary report of the recent census puts the city’s population at 9,00,914 — an increase of almost 40 per cent since the 1991 census. The number of vehicles registered with the State Transport Authority in the city are around six lakh. Sources maintain that on an average around 2000 new vehicles are registered each month. As many as 50,000 to 55, 000 vehicles from the satellite townships of Panchkula and Mohali, and the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana also ply on the city roads each day. Thus the levels of sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide in the air are increasing by the day. Since traffic cops are deployed at all those places where there is maximum flow of traffic, including Housing Board light point, railway light point, transport light point, Press chowk, Cricket Stadium chowk, bus stand chowk, Sectors 22-35 roundabout, doctors say that this could increase their
susceptibility to pollution-related health hazards. It is learnt that a batch of 40 to 50 cops would be imparted yoga classes in one batch. The classes will be held each day from 5 am to 6 am at the Police Lines in a 10-day course. The first course will begin from August 27 onwards. It has been decided that the cops, who are over 40 years, will be first enlisted for the yoga class. “They are the ones who are more prone to pollution-related diseases and to the stress and strain of life,” informed a senior traffic police official. The classes will also help the obese and overweight cops to shed a few kilograms. During the ongoing check-up of the force, more than 45 per cent of the cops above 40 years of age were found to be overweight or suffering from diabetes and hypertension. |
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Cable operators’ strike today Chandigarh, August 22 A decision to this effect was taken at an emergency meeting of the All-Chandigarh Cable Operators Joint Action Committee held here
today. |
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Designer
in Magda blossoms in India Chandigarh, August 22 The woman, who was today in Chandigarh on invitation from the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD), actually seemed to be smitten by the charm of Indian fabrics. But more than anything else she talked of India as a land of real diversity. Her quote sums up her passion for the country’s textile heritage: “Where designers all over the world are unconsciously ending up unify patterns, here is India with its treasure house of lines of fashion — each one different and each one seeming to be more elegant than the first you saw. This is one place whose people can translate into reality any design that ever crossed the mind. Here every artisan is a designer.” Magda spoke with conviction about her long-standing adulation for the richness of Indian designs, as also about the purpose behind her visit. After a brief conversation, one had enough reasons to term Magda “Indian”, at least in spirit, if not in letter. This because she not only greeted the gathering with a warm ‘Namaste’, but also tried her level best to communicate in Hindi, as and when she could. She was wearing an Indian scarf which she picked up from Delhi and was sporting Indian shoes which bore a pretty “bel” pattern. For the past some days Magda has been touring Mumbai and Delhi where she met some top designers and owners of textile factories who have promised her assistance in popularising Indian fabric and designs in Europe. She has fixed up for import of some fabrics with a Mumbai-based firm. Said Magda, who is trained in textile from International Institute of Fashion Design in Spain and from the Professional School of Design, “Indian cotton, leather and pashmina are a rage in Europe. The exuberance of India’s hand embroidery remains unmatched till date and the Europeans can never even imagine such manual concepts. They neither have the mettle nor the patience for it.” No wonder Magda has been exploring the embroidery market of India. During her last visit she had toured Rajasthan and Gujarat from where she took back beautiful samples for her workmen. This time she is concentrating on the Punjab region, known for its lavish phulkaris. While she has already been to Ludhiana, she is yet to visit Patiala. “I am eager to see how Punjabi juttis are made,” she remarked, adding, “I still cannot forget the beautiful designs I saw in the bride and groom showroom in Delhi. I am sure every place has something new to offer.” Magda is equally fascinated by the colour scheme employed in Indian designs. She said: “When the other day I went to take a stroll on the Sukhna lake, I practically saw all possible colours at one spot. That was when I realised that where the western designers are caught up with black and red and white, India is experimenting with the rainbow colours day in and day out.” |
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Red letter day for NIFD
students Chandigarh, August 22 Today was,
however, a day of reckoning in the sense that real talent was awarded
its due. The following are the winning collections and the respective
designers, who brought them to life: The most elegant collection
award went to Cocktail Sip (a collection of evening gowns done up with
chirpy strong colours) designed by Shiba, Taranjeet and Sanjay. The
best constructed collection title went to Turning point (an innovative
ensemble in hues of blue and stunning sap green) designed by Daisy,
Roohi, Shweta, Rashima, Meenakshi, Shahina, Sudesh and Preeti Bhola.
The best craftsmanship award was bagged by Metamorphosis (a collection
inspired by ripples of the sea and sand dunes of the desert) created
by Preeti, Shaileja, Sherry, Shweta, Anjali and Poonam. Out of the
entire range, the jury found Jago collection as the most appealing.
Created by Preeti Mann, Gurvinder, Kanchan, Parminder, Shabnam, Seema,
Vandana, Madhu, Lakhwinder, Shikha and Abha, the collection features
colours of fire — orange, red, electric blue and red. The most
creative collection award was give to Futurista Estilo created by
Sandy, Rachna, Hitesh, Ruchika, and Nidhi. The offbeat collection
title went to Reflections designed by Abhinav, Dheeraj, Nishu, Pamela,
Ritu and Rosy. Out of the lot, the most Mardi Grass was adjudged the
most exotic collection. The outfits were all about a golden touch over
well-tailored flares. It reflected the carnival spirit. This line was
created by Aseem and Vishal. The viewers’ choice awards went to
Frenzy fever and Monolithic Expressions. |
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Rare spine surgery at GMCH Chandigarh, August 22 According to the GMCH Orthpaedics Department Head, Prof Raj Bahadur, one of the operations was performed yesterday on a 21-year-old patient who was suffering from a deformed spine, which, besides spoiling his physical appearance, was also seriously affecting the lifestyle of the patient. The operation, said the doctor, was performed under general anaesthesia took nearly three-and-half hours. “We found that the problem was due to an asymmetric body and continuous pain due to poor biomechanics of the deformed spine,” said Prof Raj Bahadur. He also claimed that GMCH was the only place in the northern region where such surgeries were being performed at present. Explaining about the problem, Prof Raj Bahadur said scoliosis occurs when the normal alignment of the spine is disturbed and deviated to a side, causing asymmetry of the trunk. This complication is caused due to congenital defects in the vertebra, imbalance of muscles on the two sides of the vertebral column, limb length discrepancy of lower limbs, and also the degenerative disorders, he added. In a majority of the cases, however, no defect in the muscular skeletal are found and they are labelled as idiopathic cases. In the absence of serious structural defects during the initial years, the scoliotic curve of the spine is usually reversible, provided they are detected in time, said Prof Raj Bahadur. At this
stage they can be traced with non-surgical methods, including special braces, which are worn till the time the growth of the spine is over. But over the period these curves become irreversible with the surgical treatment the only
answer. This, said the doctor, involves a complicated procedure where inter-vertebral discs of all the vertebra involved in the scoliotic segment are removed. Once the correction is attained, it is maintained in the correct state by using metallic implants. At times surgery may also be required in cases where even a malleable curve in spite of early detection has a tendency to grow at a rapid pace, he added. The biggest cause of worry for doctors is that patients in developing countries like India usually report the complications very late when the deformity has become fixed, and attaining full correction of the deformity is difficult, said Prof Raj Bahadur. This is mainly due to lack of awareness, he added. Another problem was the lack of device called somatosensory, a highly sophisticated piece of equipment which minimises the risk of damage to the spinal cord. Besides, in the operation indigenous instrumentation costing Rs 17,000 was used. “The cost of instrumentation in such operations can be as high as Rs 1 lakh,” says Prof Raj Bahadur. |
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Christian
front flays PM’s remarks Chandigarh, August 22 Mr Malik further said had the missionaries been doing conversions, the percentage of Christians would be 90 in the country and not 2.3. Conversion is a matter of heart and soul and not a political issue, Mr Malik said while adding, “we have always denounced monetary conversions and the government still has to find a single such case.’’ |
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More felled khair trees, stumps
found Seunk
(Kharar), August 22 The Punjab Forest Department has suspended the Forest Guard and the Forester of the area. The investigation is being carried out by the Conservator Shivalik range. According to sources, the investigating officials have found a large number of uprooted stumps and trunks of khair trees. The officials are also said to have found several pits from where trees have been uprooted. The exact number of stumps and trunks could not be known as a significant part of the forest is yet to be searched. The Forest Department officials, along with the villagers, started counting the trees in forests spread across over 1200 acres on Monday. The counting operations continued for the third day today. Yesterday, the investigations were hampered because of the rains. Mr Naginder Singh, a villager said he saw 300 stumps uprooted. Another villager, Mr Dilber Singh, claimed, that he saw several pits from where khair trees had been uprooted’’. It is not possible to count the number of unmarked trees illegally felled. According to a forest official, the woods are very thick and it is almost impossible to even count the number of existing khair trees. The villagers alleged that the contractor had felled a large number of unmarked trees and had left the marked trees for felling in October when his permit would be revised. The contractor maintained that he did not chop any unmarked tree or uproot these. Uprooting of khair trees and cutting of unmarked trees is illegal. On the reported explanation of the contractor that the stumps were not uprooted by him but the workers engaged in construction of Jayanti Dam in the village, the villagers and officials of Kandi Area Development, constructing the dam, said that the reservoir came up about two years back. They asked, whether the contractor had preserved the stumps for the past two years’’. |
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Rs 438 lakh sanctioned as
loans Panchkula, August 22 In a press note, Ms Jyoti Arora, Deputy Commissioner, said loans in 72 cases were sanctioned for industrial units, 195 for services, 333 for business and 20 for agricultural sector. Other categories under which loans were sanctioned included Scheduled Caste, backward classes, women, and handicapped persons. She said during the past two years 78 small-scale industries had been set up and 780 unemployed youths were provided employment. The Zila Sainik Board, Panchkula, would provide a financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh to ex-servicemen, war-widows and their dependents under various schemes. A sum of Rs 2.75 lakh was provided under these welfare schemes during the last financial year. The DC, who is also the chairman of Zila Sainik Board, said Rs 1.17 lakh had been provided as pension to 48 ex-servicemen and Rs 96,000 as old age pension to 40 war widows. She further said that last year Rs 10,800 was provided as financial assistance to destitute children of two soldiers, besides Rs 6,650 to 10 children of deceased soldiers. Apart from this Rs 7,500 were provided to three war widows for the marriage of their daughters and Rs 6,000 as financial assistance to 11 war-widows. |
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Plan to start more ‘hop-on-hop-off’
buses Chandigarh, August 22 This was stated by the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), after laying the foundation stone of a hostel block of the Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management Catering and Nutrition, here today, The buses will be like the one recently introduced by the CITCO for tourist destinations within the city. But the design and height of the buses will be decided following a feasibility study. General Jacob said Chandigarh was emerging as a hub of tourist attraction and there was a need to provide proper infrastructure to the tourists. Stressing the need for giving fillip to the tourism in the city, General Jacob said that presently tourists coming to Chandigarh were transit tourists to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and used Chandigarh visit for overnight stay. He said for the last one-and-half-year the Administration had made efforts to promote tourism potential of the city. The Sukhna Lake has been improved and a new restaurant ‘‘ Mermaid’’ has already made its mark. In due course the lake club, with sports facilities such as tennis, squash and other water sports, is set to emerge as a premier sports resort. Apart from this, the Rose Garden, the Rock Garden, the Terrace Garden and Kalagram were fast emerging as new avenue of tourists’ interest. General Jacob said Government Museum and Art Gallery had been revamped and it had best display collections of Harappan and Kushan sculptures and also collection of Pahari, Mughal and Sikh paintings. He said the Chandigarh Administration was taking steps to popularise this museum, especially amongst Japanese and tourists from East Asian countries. The Administrator said, “The tourism and hospitality industries had largely remained ignored in the country and we have failed to exploit the full potential. Worldwide the importance of tourism industries both foreign and domestic have been recognised as important pillars in the economics of developed and developing countries.” He said the hotel and hospitality industries had to play an important role in tourism industry and said that students of this institute would become ambassadors of future hospitality industries. Congratulating the institute for conceiving this project having 68 rooms in two blocks for boys and girls separately, the Administrator said this added facilities would motivate the students to perform better in future. Earlier speaking on the occasion, Mr R.S.Gujral, Home Secretary, informed that students of this institute were facing problem of accommodation. The Chandigarh Administration have already allotted 50 rooms in foreign students’ hostel for boys and 30 rooms in Women Working Hostel for girls of the Institute. |
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New CTYC chief next
month likely Chandigarh, August 22 According to party sources, the appointment has been delayed due to the month-long membership drive launched on August 1. It was believed that the announcement could have an adverse affect on the ongoing membership drive. The President of the IYC, Mr Randeep Surjewala, had reportedly recommended the names of Mr H.S. Lucky and Mr Ravinder Singh Palli for the post. The IYC pradesh returning officer, Mr Pankaj Sharma, had announced here recently that Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma ceased to be the CTYC chief after his elevation as the General Secretary of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Commitee (CTCC). Mr Sharma maintained that he would continue to had the CTYC till his successor was named. The sources said Mr Oscar Fernandes, the General Secretary in charge of the frontal organisations, had clarified that the vacancy existed in the city. The party high command was anxious to clear the uncertainty and name the new CTYC chief since the election to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh was round the corner, the sources said. They
claimed that the announcement would be made next month after the
Congress chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi, formally approved the appointment. |
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Drawing
magic on rice
grains Chandigarh, August 22 The 23-year-old has been at it for the past several years. What began as a hobby to pass time has now become a passion. His depiction on rice grains are as varied as Guru Gobind Singh, Jesus Christ, Mother Teresa, Golden Temple, Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lord Ganesh, Taj Mahal, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Giani Zail Singh, Kathakali, Charlie Chaplin, flute playing, lord Krishna and a model of the doomed ship, Titanic. Now he has drawn a globe in colour on a rice grain. It is too small to be seen with the naked eye as indeed are his other works. But take a magnifying glass and the painting comes alive in all its magnificence. Jagdish Kumar who belongs to a poor family of Dhanas village of Chandigarh UT uses a self-made paintbrush made of a single hair. He generally paints without a magnifying glass but in bright sunlight which shows up all the details of whatever he is drawing on the rice grain. Jagdish Kumar is a bit disappointed that he could not make it to the Chandigarh College of Arts due to tough competition. But he has not lost hope. He will now try for admission to an arts college somewhere else. Some time ago, he held an exhibition of his works drawn on 101 rice grains. It was well appreciated. Now he plans to hold the exhibition in Delhi and is looking for a sponsor. Any takers? |
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IN FOCUS Panchkula A thick cover of this weed is visible across the commercial complex in Sector 5 where not much construction has been done. Besides, it is growing in abundance around the mini secretariat, the judicial complex and in the vacant space next to government college. The parking space in the Sector 11 market has also been taken over by the weed and shopkeepers and customers are irked by the complacency of the horticulture wing in not taking any control measures. A resident of Sector 9, Mrs Usha Sharma, says: “The congress grass menace should be taken up on a priority basis because of the nuisance it causes. My three-year old son developed rashes all over his arms after he came in contact with this weed in the adjoining plot.” Another resident of Sector 4, Mr Vijay Katial, opines: “The department knows this is a chronic problem and the weed grows year after year. In spite of this, they do not take any precautionary measures and spring into action only when the weed is about knee high. They must adopt a pro-active approach rather than a reactive approach to control this menace.” The President of the Sector 12 Residents Welfare Association, Wg Cdr HL Ratta, said that he had taken up the matter with the administration almost a month ago. “Till now, no action has been initiated and nothing is likely to come out of the assurances given to us. Although it is a chronic problem, yet the administration has been unable to work out a permanent work schedule to uproot the weed,” he added. Meanwhile, sources in Haryana Urban Development Authority say that the eradication work will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, the open spaces will be cleared while the residential areas will be taken up in the second phase. Also, the department has begun clearing the road berms of unwanted growth. |
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Few bidders turn up for auction Panchkula, August 22 The bidders attributed the lack of interest to the general slump in the economy, claiming there was hardly any money with investors as also there were no takers for any sort of business. To begin with, very few bidders turned up at the venue leading to a delay on nearly an hour with officials waiting and hoping for a better response. Then, it took off on a sour note with the department having to withdraw most of the sites in view of the lack of response from the bidders. Also, HUDA did not make much profit in the sites sold barring a couple of exceptions. Against a reserve price of Rs 124.86 lakh of all seven sites put together, HUDA netted Rs 134.56 lakh. Out of five sites up for auction in Sector 8, only one site was sold while there were no takers for sites in Sectors 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 25. The highest bid came for an SCO site with basement in Sector 20, the site fetching Rs 63.20 lakh against a reserve price of Rs 55 lakh, while the second highest bid came for a built booth without basement in Sector 15 which brought in Rs 13.60 lakh against a reserve price of Rs 13.05 lakh. In Sector 15, another similar booth went for Rs 13.50 lakh against a reserve price of Rs 13.05 lakh. The other sites which were auctioned include booth sites in Sectors 8, 11, 12-A and 21. The difference between the highest bid and the reserve price varied between Rs 10,000 and Rs 16,000. |
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60 sites allotted to
auto mechanics Chandigarh, August 22 The draw of lots was to allot the sites in Sectors 38 and 48, respectively. With the latest draw of lots all built up sites in the city have been allotted. Today the draw of lots included 43 sites of ‘C’ category, 10 sites of ‘B’ category and 7 sites of ‘A’ category. In the three categories 277, 155 and 7, persons were found to be eligible, respectively. |
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Kitty culture takes
root Kharar Women in this town are mostly confined to their homes with little means of recreation. Most of them feel that this is a good change from their routine household chores. They feel that these parties, apart from encouraging savings also provide an occasion for interacting with others. The kitty parties also have a social impact. Each social group has started its own kitty. There are kitties based on caste where people belonging to one community including men take part. Then there are week-end kitties in which all members of a family including children take part. Even senior citizens have joined this trend with some of them forming “Saas - Bahu Kitty”. Some firms have found these parties a convenient forum to push the sales of consumer items. The recruit sales agents who demonstrate and sell their products at the kity party. They offer a gift to the host and are able to know in advance the time and venue. Taking advantage of this trend, a number of restaurants and eating joints have offered facilities for them. Each claims to offer the best facilities at concessional rates. A random survey revealed that each restaurant charges between Rs 2000 and Rs 4000, depending on the size of the group and there is no dearth of booking. The kitty parties are also centres for women to share their problems, to discuss the burning issues, and to show off the latest in fashions. |
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2 killed in mishap SAS Nagar, August 22 The accident took place around 2.15 a.m. on the main road near the Civil Hospital when the driver of the vehicle was busy checking a fault under the vehicle. The police said the truck driver, Kushal Kumar of Mubarkpur village in Una district, died on the spot, while the driver of the Tata Sumo, Mr Devinder Singh of Palsora village in Chandigarh, died at the PGI. |
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4 BSNL employees’ unions
merge Chandigarh, August 22 The announcement to this effect was made at the inaugural conference of the new union here yesterday, which was opened by the All- India Organising Secretary of the union, Mr. R.L. Modgil. |
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BKU holds protest
rally Chandigarh, August 22 A press note
issued by the BKU said a farmer, Mithu Singh, had sought a loan at Maur Mandi. The bank manager had allegedly harassed this farmer. Later the farmer committed suicide. The BKU demanded that the erring bank manager be proceeded against for harassing the farmer. The BKU demanded that a case be registered against the manager and a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh be paid to the family of the deceased. It also demanded that the 116 farmers who were taken into custody be let off unconditionally. The BKU served an ultimatum on the government that its demands should be accepted by August 31. Failing this, it threatened to intensify its agitation, from September 1. |
Another held in contract killing
case Chandigarh, August 22 According to the police, Ashoki was responsible for ferrying the hired assassins in the car of the former Chairman of the Haryana Warehousing Corporation. Chumma and his brother Sant Kumar had hired an assassin Bittu through one of their employees to kill Harjinder Singh, a local timber merchant. A deal had been struck for Rs 10 lakhs and Rs 3 lakh had reportedly also been paid as advance to the assassin, who had now turned approver. Bittu had introduced two other men to the accused, who were to execute the job. The three accused had reportedly lured Harjinder Singh on the pretext of helping him procure timber at a lower rate. The three accused took him to a nearby township in Punjab, where one of them confessed before Harjinder Singh. |
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Cyclist
injured in mishap Chandigarh, August 22 According to information, the injured is a resident of Bapu Dham colony, who has been admitted to the Sector 32 GMCH. The car driver, Surinder Singh, a resident of Sector 45, was reportedly drunk. One booked: Krishan Kumar has been booked for furnishing a fake cheque for Rs 27,000 to a contractor. A case under Section 420 of the IPC has been registered. Theft cases:
Cash worth Rs 30,000 was stolen from the dickey of a scooter parked in Sector 18 on Tuesday. A motor cycle ( CH-01-7327) was stolen from Sector 46 on Sunday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered. In another case, cash worth Rs 10,000 and a gold chain were stolen from the house of Mr P.N. Garg while he was out of station. A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered. |
Net users switch to local
companies Chandigarh, August 22 Companies in India might follow suit feel the Indian service providers. “There can be nothing called a free lunch”, says Mr Vijay Kaul, Chief Marketing Officer, HFCL (the basic telephone service provider) which also provides Internet services. Companies here are not likely to start charging immediately as they would like to encash upon the disgruntled users of the companies who have started charging and moreover, most Indian companies are into other services as well apart from e-mail, say the service providers here. Netaddress.com (usa.net) which had around 57 lakh subscribers in April 1999 (as per the CNet News article) discontinued providing free e-mail from July 31 onwards. “In the changing business environment, revenue sources are not adequate to support our free e-mail services,” Netaddress had announced on its page. With this only the customers who subscribed to the services by paying $29.99 per anum , if they signed before July 31 and $49.99 otherwise, can continue with their existing address. Similarly, Yahoo, another popular free e-mail server, decided to charge in case of 6MB or larger, accounts. The strategy adopted by these companies was simple. Attract customers by free e-mail services and later earn revenues through the same. “There is no harm in adopting this strategy. These companies are the ones that have satisfied their clients and there is no harm charging a nominal amount for the same”, feels Arvind Jalota Manager Networks, Glide, one of the most popular ISPs in the region. Glide, he says, is not having any such plans (to charge) on the cards as it is providing other services as well. “It depends upon the business model of a service provider. The ones who are relying solely on the e-mail services won’t be able to provide free e- mail for
long. Those who are into other services can still afford the same”, says he. Regarding Comeconnect, he says, the company has so far no plans to charge for the e-mail services it offers. Indian companies need to learn a lesson from this. Prepare a business model keeping long term goals in mind. “The number of service providers today is extremely large. Users always have a choice to shift on to the other service provider, because for most e-mail service is the first thing that can attract customers to their site”. Though the user does have an option to shift his e-mail address, a permanent address and reliability is what the user seeks . “It is very unfair to start charging for the services after we have used that address for 2-3 years”, says a Net user. With many companies on the verge of closure, the users are also opting for a forwarding address. Forwarding address on a server redirects the e-mail to the desired destination. This facilitates one to maintain a constant e-mail address. |
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BIZ CLIPS CHANDIGARH Workshop: IAAN Creation, an audio visual production house which also conducts interactive workshops on communication and media, will hold a communication-cum-personality development workshop in GCG, Sector 42, on August 25. TNS Spot Painting: The fifth annual on- the-spot painting competition will be held at Pallavi Restaurant and banquets complex, Sector 5, Panchkula, on August 28 at 10 am for budding artists from Panchkula, Chandimandir, Chandigarh and Mohali.
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