Residents of Karatankadu in Lakkapuram Panchayat said that their cable TV operator is insisting them to purchase set top boxes of private companies and is demanding ₹ 500 to ₹1,100 for the same.
Residents in the area said that the operator also refuse to give receipt for the purchase of the set top boxes and fail to give proper explanation. They also said that earlier they were receiving more than 70 channels and were paying monthly subscription amount of ₹ 100 to the operator. However, they were receiving less than 30 channels in the past one month and said that the operator is insisting them to purchase set top boxes so as to receive more channels.
They met S. Maheswari, Special Tahsildar, Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited (TACTV) at the Collectorate and lodged complaint. The officer asked the cable operator to provide the set top boxes given by the government at free of cost to the subscribers and collect ₹ 200 as installation and one-time activation charge and warned against collecting additional money. Officials said that high definition (HD) set top boxes with MPEG 4 technology will be provided free of cost to the subscribers by the government and one can chose from two type of packages. Subscribers have to pay ₹ 125 plus 18% tax for a monthly package with about 200 channels, while they have to pay ₹ 175 plus 18% tax for a package with about 300 channels.
They added that over 3.2 lakh cable TV subscribers are there in the district and they should register themselves for receiving the set top boxes from the government. Complaints regarding the issues can be lodged at the toll free number 1800-425-2911 or at the TACTV office at Collectorate at 0424-2262573 or at 94980-02573.
