Flouting transfer norms, the only ITS (Indian Telecom Service) officer from Kerala who chose to remain with the BSNL when it was formed a company from the Department of Telecom (DoT), has been shunted out of the state.
S Jyothi Shankar, general manager, Thiruvananthapuram, was transferred to Chennai. There were eight general managers and deputy general managers in Kerala who have decided to continue with the DoT.
Following the transfer of Jyothi Shankar, National and Kerala Circles of the All-India Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd Executives Association have threatened to launch an agitation in the state. As a mark of protest, a lunch-hour demonstration will be taken out at all SSAs in the state on Wednesday. Association Kerala Circle secretary T K Mangalanandan alleged that the general manager was transferred flouting the transfer norms. He was functioning as the general manager from June 2010 and, as per the policy, he can continue in the post for four years.
He said that the Association would be forced to initiate further organisational actions, including work-to-rule and withdrawal of support and non-cooperation, with immediate effect without serving further notice. The transfer can be viewed as a harassment of an ITS officer who voluntarily opted to stay with the BSNL, he said.
‘’There are several BSNL officers in Kerala who have completed their tenure and still continuing in the state. The inter-circle transfer policy should be implemented instead of victimising an officer,’’ Mangalanandan said.
Association national general secretary Prahlad Rai said that Jyothi Shankar was a target of certain vested interests who harboured personal enmity and propagated false allegations against him with ulterior motive. The Association has submitted a memorandum to the chairman and managing director of the BSNL against the ‘’harassment and discrimination’’ of the ITS officer. The BMS-affiliated Bharatheeya Telecom Employees Union, too, joined the protest against the transfer. Union president S Krishnakumar said that the Thiruvananthapuram SSA had made a profit of Rs 20 crore last year when losses are reported from several parts of the country.
Thiruvananthapuram is second in the country in terms of broadband revenue. During the tenure of Jyothi Shankar, he was able to reduce the port out of mobile phones to less than one per cent, which is a record of sorts in the country.
There is suspicion about his transfer when several general managers’ posts are lying vacant in Thiruvananthapuram itself. His transfer will only lead to the BSNL plunging into crisis and losing its achievements made in the past couple of years, he claimed.
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