The Hindu : New Delhi News : Reader's Mail

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 24, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Reader's Mail

Wrong number

In December 2005 I received a call from an Idea call centre -- Convergence -- representative stating that Idea had launched a new rental scheme where one had to pay only Rs. 900 as two years' advance rental. Since the scheme seemed attractive, I made cash payment of Rs. 900 and was given a receipt in the form of a signed copy of the pre-printed Idea Customer Service Agreement (CSA) Form. I was told that the payment would feature in my next billing statement.

On receiving the January 2006 bill from Idea, however, I was surprised to see that the payment of Rs.900 had not been credited.

I approached the Corporate Head Office of Idea Cellular Ltd. at A-30, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Estate, Mathura Road, New Delhi. Here I was shocked to hear that the Idea CSA Form was no proof of payment and that the call centre was not authorised by Idea.

The Idea officials expressed "helplessness" and refused to reimburse the money to me. But all this while they said they were aware of such outfits duping subscribers!

I tried calling up the follow-up number given to me by the call centre representative but kept getting a message that the phone was switched off.

I then approached the call centre at its address -- A-14, First Floor, Swasthya Vihar, Delhi -- and was shocked to see that several other customers who also had been treated in a similar manner were standing outside the office. The call centre head said he had discontinued the arrangement with Idea and that he could adjust my money against a new Hutch connection!

I demanded a reimbursement and threatened to lodge an FIR against them. On this I was handed over a refund cheque for Rs. 900.

I was one of the lucky few to get my money back. But what is shocking is that Idea Cellular Ltd. refuses to accept any accountability for a call centre operating in its name.

The authorities concerned must do something about it for the sake of innocent customers.

Ajay Thomas,

1-A, D.D.A. Flats,

Friends Colony East.

New Delhi - 110 065.

No, Colonel Saab

I wish to set the record straight about St. Stephen's debaters after reading Colonel R.D. Singh's account of his debating memories in his letter, "Three cheers", in these columns (April 10) in which he talks of winning, for DAV College (Chandigarh), an April 1973 Vaish College (Bhiwani) debate over a team of "snobbish St. Stephen's" who scored with their "style and aura".

As a successful Stephanian debater of that era in both English and Hindi, may I point out that we won innumerable debates not just because of "style and aura" but also because of sheer substance acquired through the reading habit we cultivated.

Col. R.D. Singh should have been present in the St. Stephen's College auditorium on January 27, 2006, to witness our momentous celebrity debate on "Ideology in Indian politics is dead" -- held to mark 125 years of the foundation of the College -- in British parliamentary style, with my role being that of Prime Minister, "Pioneer" Editor and BJP Member of Parliament Chandan Mitra as Leader of the Opposition, social activist Harsh Mander as Deputy Prime Minister, and Congress Member of Parliament Sachin Pilot as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. All four of us are Stephanians and the audience overwhelmingly voted for the Motion after a brisk question-answer session, somewhat like the Prime Minister's question time in the British House of Commons in which Prime Minister Tony Blair locks horns with Opposition Leader David Cameron on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 11-30 a.m.

Debating is taken very seriously at St. Stephen's College to this day, as it should be, and there is certainly no "snobbery" involved in cultivating excellence, be it in English or Hindi public speaking.

Vinod Chowdhury,

Senior Reader in Economics,

St. Stephen's College,

Delhi University,

Delhi - 110 007.

Books, please

This is the time of the year when thousands of anxious children and parents all over the country go around thronging book shops in search of textbooks prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and published, printed and distributed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). As typical of a Government entity, NCERT's efforts to make sufficient copies of these textbooks available throughout the country at the beginning of the academic year are far from satisfactory. This is the case every year.

Can NCERT not allow willing printers across the country to print and distribute these books locally through a suitable commercial arrangement?

S. Rukmani,

D-77, Malviya Nagar,

New Delhi - 110 017.

Why quota?

The Government's decision to reserve 50% of the seats in IIMs and Central universities is most unfair. The reasoning behind the reservation policy has failed. In fact, exactly the opposite of what our Constitution-makers intended while including the policy of reservations in the Constitution is taking place. Instead of the need for reservations being eliminated, we have the Government increasing the quota for the BCs and OBCs. But is it helping the OBCs? The very fact that there is need for reservations being increased year after year shows that it is not. The Government might as well start reserving seats for the general category now.

Also the Government must notice that most of the students in these universities belong to the middle class, and with only 50% of the seats now available for the lakhs of us, the alternative is private universities which are unaffordable for most of us. So where do we go?

What actually needs to be done is introduction of reservation on the basis of economic status. We should reserve seats even for a poor Brahmin student, provide financial help to the people belonging to the lower economic strata, and completely abolish reservations on a caste basis.

Swati Roy,

B.A. (Hons.) Political Science,

Miranda House,

University of Delhi,

Delhi 110 007.

Lucknow calling

Lucknow should have an underground railway now because of the phenomenal increase in traffic on its roads leading to high pollution as well as bottlenecks. The city's population has gone up from 2.5 lakhs in 1901 to two million according to the 2001 Census.

Given these factors, it is time Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy paid urgent attention to Lucknow and considered the metro railway a requisite addition to the city's transportation network.

Obaidur Rahman Nadwi,

Lecturer, Nadwa College,

P.O. Box 93, Tagore Marg,

Lucknow.

(Letters for this column may be sent by e-mail to wsins@thehindu.co.in. They must carry the full postal address of the writer and should be marked "Reader's Mail".)

1-A, D.D.A. Flats,

Friends Colony East.

New Delhi - 110 065.

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