People thrown at a private telecommunication service provider for re-submission of document for mobile pre-paid users at Dimapur, Nagaland on Tuesday, January 18, 2011.
The Indian Government has directed all mobile pre-paid users to re-submit the document in North East India for Security reason. (Photo/Caisii Mao)
Dimapur, Jan 19 : A massive re-verification campaign of all mobile phone SIM prepaid cards issued in Nagaland is on. The process started in a move, prompted by security reasons and mandated by the Department of Telecom. With almost all public using cell phone services, this has proved to be one big headache.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) had directed all mobile phone companies in the North-East to wrap up the re-verification of the 20 something million mobile users on security grounds by January 19, 2011, failing which they will be out of the mobile loop. It was also reported that the operators had approached the home ministry with their concerns on the new norms, which they call stringent. Sims which is not re-verified is being deactivated.
Meeting the January 19 deadline is proving to be a huge challenge, but what’s worse is that telecom operators in Nagaland failed to issue directives regarding the Sim re-verification on time, and clear directives at that. This has left the subscribers in a scurry. It has been reported that DoT has sent detailed guidelines to telecom operators earlier, but the public is now irked because they felt that announcements were made only recently, leaving them in a rush to fill up the forms.
And the new norms are not helping either. The public is confused with ID requirements, and not to leave out the long queues, because of few operating outlets available. An irate cell phone user mentioned that the requirement to fill the forms hasn’t been properly given. “The telecom companies haven’t issued any sort of directive in the local media. It is only a day or two that a mobile car has been going around town announcing the news,” he stated.
However, a senior executive of a mobile company here has refuted the statements and said that since the past three months, notice has been alerted to subscribers through SMSs, and calls. “People were just ‘reluctant’ to fill the forms and everyone is hurrying at the last minute,” he said. Also the senior executive pointed out that there are many outlets available but people seem to be flocking only to the ones around the main town hence causing traffic jams, and irate queues. The senior executive also divulged that telecom operators are trying to ‘buy time’ and talks are on to extend the deadline.
At the moment of filing this report, subscribers of some telecom companies reported that they received text which informed them to submit documents even after the stipulated deadline, i.e January 19.
Meanwhile, the State Capital Kohima has also witnessed long queues of pre-paid mobile customers at the various mobile branches following the guidelines issued by the DoT to complete re-verification of their connection before January 19. Pre-paid mobile users in Kohima were seen rushing to the mobile branches here with the required documents. Mobile users have been asked to submit documents like; 4 recent passport photos, address proof and identity proof to the nearest franchise shop/office for re-verification.
(With inputs from Our Correspondent in Kohima)
via Morung Express
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