BSNL gears up to face strike with 'contingency' plan

New Delhi, July 6 (UNI) With the spectre of thousands of employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) going on strike on July 11, looming large protesting the delay in procuring GSM equipment of 45.5 million lines, Chairman and Managing Director Anil Kumar Sinha today urged the workers to postpone their stir.

BSNL has not placed the contract with Ericsson although it had selected the company eight months ago and the delay has irked BSNL staff union, which has threatened to go on a nation-wide strike on July 11 and an indefinite one soon after.

''We have requested them to postpone their strike and have told them that we are taking appropriate steps to do whatever is possible to expand the mobile network. They should also take care that telecom services across the country are not affected,'' Mr Sinha said.

Union leader V A N Namboodiri said, ''We have told both secretary and the CMD that the purchase order has to be issued at any cost so that the loss of subscribers could be checked and BSNL could retain its competitiveness.'' BSNL Director (Planning and New Services) Kuldeep Goyal said, ''That (the addition of GSM lines) will be taken care of. I hope the issues will be sorted out soon. We are working on it and hopefully before the strike some decision will be taken.'' He however, had earlier in the day said, ''We have a contingency plan drawn up to handle any eventualities.'' Communications Minister A Raja had earlier said he wanted BSNL to renegotiate the deal for setting up 45.5 million lines with Swedish equipment supplier Ericsson, which had quoted a cost of 107 dollars per line, to below 100 dollars a line.

''It is a matter of concern,'' he had said, when it was pointed out that BSNL had lost market share and its second rank among GSM operators due to the indecision.

With the danger of telecom services being affected when over 3.4 lakh BSNL employees go on strike, he said the company has a contingency plan. ''BSNL always has a contingency plan ready so that services are not affected,'' he added.

UNI