OR ELSE 5 MOBILE TOWERS TO BE SHUT DOWN
GANGTOK, 10 Nov: Following the move of a group of local youth in West Sikkim to sit in an indefinite hunger strike over not payment of their dues amounting to Rs.5 lakhs by a mobile tower company (earlier reported in NOW!) the DC West, S Pradhan has issued an ultimatum to the responsible company to pay up by 18 November or face shut down of its towers.
In fact there are 5 such mobile towers in the district which are in question here and are due for a shut down failing payment by the due date.
It is informed that as per section 146 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the district magistrate has issued a summons to the concerned companies to appear before him failing which the 5 towers will be shut down and put in the custody of the police. Thereafter no one, either from the company or outside, will be allowed in the premises of the towers. With the intervention of the district administration the agitating group of around 8 local youth had called off their indefinite hunger strike but when the company refused to pay up then decided to demolish all the 5 towers they had constructed. Reading this to be a law and order situation the district magistrate then intervened and desisted the youth from taking such a drastic measure. However should the representatives of the concerned companies not show up on the due date the 5 towers shall be shut down.
The five mobile towers are located in Rinchenpong, Phunsebong, Malbasey, Lungchok and Lungzik, all in West Sikkim.
The 8 youth had taken the contract work for construction of the BTS mobile towers (Vodafone network tower). Aster Tele services Pvt Ltd. Kolkata had issued the Work order for civil works through a private construction company called and Information Technology Pvt Ltd, Siliguri, in the name of one Bijendra Sharma a resident of Tadong, Gangtok in December 2009. The work, was carried out with the help of his friends as partners, Bijendra had informed earlier. The tower was constructed by them with the help of 27 labourers and masons who have still to be paid their full due as their payments have not come through from the said company.
In a new turn of events it has now been revealed that the tower construction work had been commissioned by Indus Towers, claimed to be the largest tower construction companies in India which has already made all the necessary payments to ESSENN Communications who is represented by Nilesh Agarwal, it is informed. Nilesh had been called upon by the district magistrate a few days ago to make the necessary payments and is informed to have challenged the order that there were no payments to be made. A summons has also been issued to Nilesh to appear before the DM on 18 November. Furthermore it is informed that the SDM Siliguri has also been contacted in order to ensure that Nilesh appears on the due date.
It is a tricky situation here with the main company, Indus Towers having stated that they have made all necessary payments to ESSEN Communications. Should the towers be shut down Indus Towers will also suffer great losses.
Tshering Bhutia, one of the affected youth had earlier informed that the total bill amount for the construction work was originally over Rs. 8.93 lakhs. But when the youth started feeling harassed over the delay in payment and the frequent trips to Siliguri they accepted the contention of the company that this was an inflated figure and had to be brought down to Rs. 4.98 lakhs. However even this amount is pending for the past so many months.
GANGTOK, 10 Nov: Following the move of a group of local youth in West Sikkim to sit in an indefinite hunger strike over not payment of their dues amounting to Rs.5 lakhs by a mobile tower company (earlier reported in NOW!) the DC West, S Pradhan has issued an ultimatum to the responsible company to pay up by 18 November or face shut down of its towers.
In fact there are 5 such mobile towers in the district which are in question here and are due for a shut down failing payment by the due date.
It is informed that as per section 146 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the district magistrate has issued a summons to the concerned companies to appear before him failing which the 5 towers will be shut down and put in the custody of the police. Thereafter no one, either from the company or outside, will be allowed in the premises of the towers. With the intervention of the district administration the agitating group of around 8 local youth had called off their indefinite hunger strike but when the company refused to pay up then decided to demolish all the 5 towers they had constructed. Reading this to be a law and order situation the district magistrate then intervened and desisted the youth from taking such a drastic measure. However should the representatives of the concerned companies not show up on the due date the 5 towers shall be shut down.
The five mobile towers are located in Rinchenpong, Phunsebong, Malbasey, Lungchok and Lungzik, all in West Sikkim.
The 8 youth had taken the contract work for construction of the BTS mobile towers (Vodafone network tower). Aster Tele services Pvt Ltd. Kolkata had issued the Work order for civil works through a private construction company called and Information Technology Pvt Ltd, Siliguri, in the name of one Bijendra Sharma a resident of Tadong, Gangtok in December 2009. The work, was carried out with the help of his friends as partners, Bijendra had informed earlier. The tower was constructed by them with the help of 27 labourers and masons who have still to be paid their full due as their payments have not come through from the said company.
In a new turn of events it has now been revealed that the tower construction work had been commissioned by Indus Towers, claimed to be the largest tower construction companies in India which has already made all the necessary payments to ESSENN Communications who is represented by Nilesh Agarwal, it is informed. Nilesh had been called upon by the district magistrate a few days ago to make the necessary payments and is informed to have challenged the order that there were no payments to be made. A summons has also been issued to Nilesh to appear before the DM on 18 November. Furthermore it is informed that the SDM Siliguri has also been contacted in order to ensure that Nilesh appears on the due date.
It is a tricky situation here with the main company, Indus Towers having stated that they have made all necessary payments to ESSEN Communications. Should the towers be shut down Indus Towers will also suffer great losses.
Tshering Bhutia, one of the affected youth had earlier informed that the total bill amount for the construction work was originally over Rs. 8.93 lakhs. But when the youth started feeling harassed over the delay in payment and the frequent trips to Siliguri they accepted the contention of the company that this was an inflated figure and had to be brought down to Rs. 4.98 lakhs. However even this amount is pending for the past so many months.
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