In public interest

Public sector utilities such as the Postal Department and the Railways have come up with people-friendly policies and programmes.

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PUBLIC sector utilities such as the Postal Department, the Department of Telecommunications and the Railways have been playing a key role in propelling Karnataka forward. These utilities have changed their business models and outlook so much so that they have transformed themselves into dramatically different entities fit to compete with the private sector.

For Karnataka, the creation four years ago of a new railway zone, South Western Railway (SWR), has been a boon. The zone, which was created by amalgamating the reorganised Hubli division of the South Central Railway with the Bangalore and Mysore divisions of the Southern Railway, has its headquarters at Hubli. Besides Karnataka, the zone also encompasses railway routes passing through parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra.

The creation of the SWR has resulted in a good rail infrastructure network in Karnataka, besides speeding up the conversion of metre gauge tracks into broad gauge ones. Praveen Kumar, General Manager, SWR, said: Since the formation of the new zone and up to March 2007, we converted 237 kilometres of rail network to broad gauge. This financial year we shall convert another 170 km to broad gauge. We have already completed the Bijapur-Bagalkot route, while the Mysore-Chamarajanagar route will be done in six months. Broad gauge conversion will open the routes to the rest of the Indian Railways network.

At present only the Shimoga-Talguppa and Bagalkot-Gadag routes have metre gauge tracks. Even these will be converted in 2009-10. The Chikkabalapur-Kolar metre gauge line is currently closed to traffic.

Praveen Kumar said that besides the Bangalore-Mysore line (which will be completed in three years), the SWR had taken up track doubling on the Bangalore-Tumkur line and de-bottlenecking on the Arsikere-Birur line. Lines are also being constructed between Bangalore and Hassan, Kottur and Harihar, Hubli and Ankola, Raidurg and Tumkur, Bangalore and Mettupalayam (via Chamarajanagar) and Kadur and Sakleshpur.

The General Manager said that the SWR had been emphasising the strengthening and doubling of routes on which iron ore was carried. The majority of the iron ore from Karnatakas Hospet-Bellary belt goes either to Chennai or to Goa. We are already doubling the tracks between Bellary and Hospet. We also hope to double the track from Hospet to Castle Rock. This doubling will cost us Rs.1,000 crore. Sanction has already been received for the Hubli-Hebsur and the Dharwad-Kambarganvi lines.

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On routes that see the bulk of the iron ore traffic, the SWR is upgrading the existing 22.5-tonne axle load tracks to 25 tonnes, so as to allow wagons to carry not 90 tonnes of freight, but 100 tonnes. Higher-powered locomotives are also being requisitioned for these routes. The signalling system is also being upgraded with the addition of electronic systems.

Praveen Kumar added: For better rolling stock we are operating diesel locomotive workshops at Hubli and Krishnarajapuram [Bangalore]. And for the overhauling of coaches and manufacturing of components we have workshops at Hubli and Mysore.

Another thrust area for the SWR has been the use of information technology in the train information and ticket reservation systems. The stations have been improved aesthetically and functionally.

With 2007 having been declared the Year of Cleanliness, the SWR is concentrating on this aspect at stations, in coaches and in toilets. It has outsourced the work to professional agencies. Also, with Hubli having been declared a clean train station, all trains passing through the station will be given a thorough washing. Praveen Kumar said talks had taken place between the Railways and the Karnataka government on the possibility of a dedicated high-speed (speeds in excess of 250 km per hour) corridor between Bangalore and Hubli.

The Karnataka Telecom Circle of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has big plans. In an effort to reduce the fault rate in important towns and cities, it is seeking to replace drop wires (overhead wires) with a poleless network. Of the 24-odd lakh landline connections, eight lakh will be poleless, the service being provided at the customers doorstep via cables.

Commenting on the thrust areas of the Circle, the Chief General Manager of BSNLs Karnataka Telecom Circle, T.S. Kuppuswamy, said that it was looking to increase the number of Wireless in Local Loop (WLL), broadband Internet, mobile telephone and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) connections. We want to increase the number of broadband DataOne connections from the present 1.6 lakhs to three lakhs. We are aggressively marketing our broadband services. Currently we have 20,000 applications in the waiting list.

BSNL is also launching a massive campaign to increase the number of IPTV users in Bangalore. IPTV is the delivery of digital television to viewers using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. In other words, the service is delivered to the viewer through technologies that are used for computer networks, as opposed to delivery through traditional broadcast and cable formats. BSNL is planning to rope in 50,000 customers by next March.

Said Kuppuswamy: Currently there are 80 channels on IPTV, this is likely to go up to 150, and we will also have videos on demand. He said that BSNL was looking to add another two lakh WLL connections to the system.

Around 200 WLL towers will be added to improve coverage, and new equipment has arrived. Kuppuswamy said that once the equipment was installed, BSNL would be able to offer telephones on demand even in WLL.

On improving cellular services currently there are around 16.8 lakh connections in the Karnataka Telecom Circle, Kuppuswamy explained that another 11 lakh connections would be added shortly. There is a demand for our service. Equipment to expand our service has been arriving. We are also doubling the number of cellular towers to improve coverage. Kuppuswamy also disclosed that BSNLs Network Operations Centre, will shortly be located in Bangalore. The standby (disaster recovery) for this centre will be in Pune.

Plans are also afoot to try WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) operations in Bangalore. WiMAX, which is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access, will, for example, allow a user to browse the Internet on a laptop computer without physically connecting it to a wall jack. A technical feasibility study interworking WiMAX with the Circles network will be undertaken. The equipment (Motorola) for the study has already arrived.

The Karnataka Telecom Circle has already established its WiFi (short for wireless fidelity) operations in Bangalore. Twenty-five hot spots have already been set up, with 11 more in the process of being set up. Run on a revenue-sharing model, BSNLs WiFi operations have found popularity with hotels, clubs and service apartments. It can also be used in airports, hospitals, bus stands and railway stations.

With letter writing becoming a rare habit, the 152-year-old Indian postal system has been forced to change and adapt itself. Explained Meera Datta, Principal Chief Postmaster-General (Karnataka Circle): The Postal Department is no longer just a service for the people. We are now making non-tariff revenue too. We dont just carry mail.

The States 12,000 post offices (having 30,000 employees), given their presence across the length and breadth of the land, are in great demand. Said Meera Datta: If the thrust is marketing in rural India, we are already a tremendous retail outlet. There are 700 post offices in Bangalore. Today they can and, in many instances, are already being used, to retail products, services and commodities. Recently we tied up with Air Deccan to sell its tickets at post offices in Karnataka. We also sell bank loans, mutual funds for a number of players and coins for the Reserve Bank of India. Soon we will sell non-judicial stamp paper for the Karnataka government.

She added that the Karnataka Circle had also tied up with the Narayana Hrudayalaya Foundation to allow patients to transmit their records to the Foundations hospital from post offices. Doctors at the hospital will view the records and suggest the next course of action. In the Karnataka Circle more than 510 post offices are already computerised and they offer broadband services.

According to Meera Datta, post offices in the Karnataka Circle have sold Rs.15.29 crore worth of State Bank of India Infrastructure Fund, Rs.1.8 crore worth of Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds High Growth Companies Fund, and Rs.12.57 crore worth of UTI India Lifestyle Fund. The department has also become the Number One agent for Western Union. While the number of transactions from Karnataka totalled 1,30,641 during 2006-07, the total remittances were over Rs.229 crore.

Post offices have also been doing address verification for a number of mobile phone companies, charging Rs.25 for every address that is verified. Banks are also interested in the service. Some banks have already tied up with the department to enable post offices to collect cheques on their behalf.

Logistics Post, a brand new service from India Post, allows for the sending of multi-parcels, just-in-time parcels, bulk-break consignments and goods of any weight, across the country and around the world. It recently tied up with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to carry documents and parcels. Said Meera Datta: The KSRTC has given Logistics Post dedicated vehicles to carry our documents and parcels.

Logistics Post, which manages the entire distribution side of the logistics infrastructure from collection to distribution, from storage to carriage, from order preparation to order fulfilment, recently hired a freighter aircraft to carry freight exclusively to the northeastern region from Kolkata. With Karnataka having a substantial expatriate community from northeastern India, there could be a possibility of sending freight easily and quickly to that region from Karnataka in the future, Meera Datta said. The freight could be sent to Kolkata by train/road and then airlifted to cities such as Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal, avoiding the circuitous land route.

The Karnataka government is planning to stop sending old age/social security beneficiaries their grants through money orders owing to their burgeoning number and the ensuing bill on the commission, and instead ask beneficiaries to open Post Office Savings Accounts. For every such account opened, the Ministry of Finance pays the Postal Department Rs.117.