Bengal not to provide essential service stickers to IT

Kolkata, Oct 8 (UNI) The West Bengal government has decided to do away with special car stickers for the IT industry and instead deploy enough policemen to ensure smooth operations in Sector V during the Trinamool sponsored 12-hr bandh tomorrow.

''We have decided to do away with special car stickers this time.

Instead we will ensure deployment of enough policemen so that those willing to work are not intimidated by anyone,'' state IT minister Debesh Das said.

An additional superintendent of police would be specially put in charge of Sector V. A heavy radio flying squad with two sub-inspectors and one section of composite force would be assigned to ensure that no vehicle was stopped from entering Sector V.

Mr Das also discussed the matter with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

The Left Front government was the first in the country to declare the IT and ITeS industry a ''public utility'', way back in 2003. The stickers had worked briefly.

Then, during the Left-sponsored all-India industrial bandh on September 29 last year, the Left Front government was embarssed when its trade union CITU ignored the stickers and disrupted the movement of IT and ITeS staff.

The IT industry this time is keeping its fingers crossed. Genpact vice-president in Kolkata, Indranil Choudhury, said '' We hope the administration will ensure that the employees reach the office.'' Globsyn Technologies Managing Director Bikram Dasgupta said the state had never shown any conviction over giving IT a public utility tag.

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