Entry of a Delhi-based cable operator has triggered a turf war among the cable operators of the city here. The war is causing daily altercations and scuffles between the operators.
The lucrative business of cable in the city is controlled by three networks, the Uttaranchal Cable Network, Blue Sky Network (BSN) and Prime network. The hegemony of these operators was challenged by a Delhi based network Den network as it tried to lure the costumers with a number of discounts. To prevent Den network from making a foothold in the city the all the three networks forged an alliance. The union of local operators and the newly arrived network are engaging in a fierce business rivalry. Many incidences of brawls have occurred between the two sides and the skirmishes have turned bloody in Kargi Chowk and Nashvilla road recently.
Ajay Choudhary of Blue sky network claimed that the Den network is working in the city without the required registration certificate and they have challenged it in the court. He said that the Den network has started the discount war in the city and they are finding it hard to match with the more resourceful operator. The Den network is offering a free subscription of six months and offering free desk top box to the costumers.
Santosh Saklani of Den network told The Pioneer that his company Dehradun Digital Service Private limited (DDSPl) forged a partnership with the Den network and DDSPl has the valid license to work in the city. He claimed that the Den network is a big company and it provides world class quality digital signal to the costumers. Saklani said that the HC has given stay to the district administration’s orders to stop work.
There are 37000 cable connections in the city and the district administration charges an entertainment tax of Rs 20 per connection. Similarly there are about 1 lakh Direct to Home (DTH) connections in the city. The Assistant Commissioner Entertainment tax, VP Rawat said Den network has reported that they have 205 connections. He claimed that the department regularly conducts verification drives to check the authenticity of the reported figures by the cable operators. Rawat said that revenue of Rs 71 lakh was collected by the department in ongoing financial year as entertainment tax from the cable operators.