Cable operators warn of strike in MP

Bhopal, July 9 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh's cable operators have warned of launching a statewide indefinite strike from tomorrow in protest against the government's hiking entertainment tax.

''A delegation will meet the Secretary (Commerce) tomorrow and demand that the hike be withdrawn. If that does not happen, the strike will begin at 1700 hrs and all entertainment channels will go off air,'' Bhopal Cable Operators Association Chairman and Madhya Pradesh Traders' Union Convenor Arvind Agrawal said here today.

Explaining that the government doubled the tax to Rs 20 per connection from April 2006, he added that as per a 1999 agreement the levy could not be enhanced beyond 25 per cent.

''The increase is applicable only on urban operators. If the government aims at revenue enhancement, the hike ought to be universal. A delegation met Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 6 and he directed the Commercial Tax Department to take a proper decision,'' Mr Agrawal said.

UNI AG-AC SY DB2056