Editor,
The recent newly inducted 57 cabinet members are a combination of experienced and newly elected members. It was obvious that one didn’t expect any major reshuffles within the incumbents vying for top cabinet rank portfolios. The appointment of the experienced diplomat Mr S Jaishankar as Minister for External Affairs comes at a crucial stage as India now looks forward to strengthen and renew diplomatic relations and chart out strategic foreign policy matters, especially related to oil imports sanctions imposed by Iran amongst other issues which require a prime focus now.
Also the creation of the new Jal Shakti (Water Resources) ministry and allocation of an experienced minister to look after the newly formed Ministry in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is a surprise move. The PMO until now was headed by the Hon’ble PM and the day to day affairs was looked after by the Ministry’s senior bureaucrat. With the allocation of a minister to PMO, it needs to be seen as to how matters amongst the various ministries will taken care of through active co-ordination.
While it is good to know that the most of incumbents have retained their earlier portfolios it is surprising that many key portfolios like Civil Aviation, Women and Child Development, Communications, Law, I&B etc have been allotted as additional responsibilities to several ministers. Some of the portfolios will now see up to four ministries being handled by one incumbent with an average of two portfolios allotted to every minister.
The size of a jumbo cabinet may have shrunk by giving additional portfolios to one person but it is high time to follow the principle of one man one portfolio aided by Independent/MoS rank ministers. Such a move will help in speedy delivery of day to day services of the respective Ministries and Departments and may also help quick disposal of cases. It may further help the Ministries to function in an effective manner under a single functioning minister with the support of at least 2 Independent/MoS ministers respectively, if reduction of the size of the cabinet is otherwise is not possible.
Yours etc.,
Varun SD
Bangalore -72
Is BSNL folding up?
Editor,
Can we repose our trust in BSNL now? No, not at all. It has fallen from grace in many respects. Perhaps every six in ten customers have one way or other been left in the lurch. With broadband connectivity terribly low, the countless subscribers in several areas might make up their mind to say goodbye to this snobbish company and shake hand with JIO Reliance. JIO is about to kick off its new GigaFiber with a bang. Frankly speaking, when JIO starts to break in with its rock-n-roll, many things could happen. Last time JIO had virtually demolished the castles of both — Reliance Communication (belonging his own brother – Anil Ambani) and Aircel. Almost 95% of the customers were taken over by JIO.
Moreover, when advanced technology itself supports the cut-throat market, no rival company should lag behind, particularly in keeping their esteemed customers happy. Even minor shortcomings will then be “blameworthy.” What is frustrating with BSNL is that the customer care service is abysmal. Customers’ grievances are hardly attended to. I have my share of bitter experiences which haunt me and touch a raw nerve even now.
For over one and half the broadband network was erratic for many months. I filed several complaints but the problem was not resolved. Since the Jio mobile internet service was very efficient during that time and it served all my purposes, I almost forgot to “follow up” my complaint with BSNL. But I remembered my last complaint only after about eight months when the Jio service was down for about a week. As I had no other option but to fall back on BSNL broadband, I finally took the case directly to the Chief General Manager (CGM).
A great man has a great personal secretary. My call was picked up by a very humble and soft-spoken secretary of CGM – Ms Annaple Wanswett. She patiently listened to my grievances. After critically evaluating the case she consoled me and assured to restore the service at the earliest possible. Since the CGM was out of station Ms Wanswett sent a troop of linemen and technicians to fix my problem the very same day. No kidding, it took over twenty days to restore the service. The case was not simple. At various places, the cables were almost worn out and had to be replaced. This only goes to show how unprofessional BSNL is. I realized then that until that time I was just paying my bill amount for not using the services to the “optimum” – though I had opted for the unlimited high-speed data plan. Then one BSNL employee suggested that I write an application for waiving the bill. I found it logical too. I took this advice and emailed the letter on August 10, 2018 with a humble request for waiving the bill for some months. Since then I have sent four reminders and made several phone calls but have got no favorable response as yet.
No wonder, there are several complaints like mine. Cell phone users are having a tough time since the network is highly unstable. Sometimes it’s ridiculous that one has to move around or rush to the terrace for better connectivity. The callous and lackadaisical officials hardly take notice of the complaints, much less to resolve them at the earliest as happens with private service providers. Clearly BSNL’s administration is not at all geared up for the competition. One wonders, when the top administrators will realize that inefficiency, incompetence, and procrastination have reduced the PSU to an old and shabby unit. Hence instead of attracting new customers, it is fast losing its old customers too.
Can BSNL, rise up from its slumber and compete with its rivals at least to retain at least its old customers? These days people have no patience for non-performers and will quickly shift to digitally smart service providers.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong -2
