The Government Order issued by the Govt. of Telangana wide GO MS No.102 declaring complete lockdown throughout the state has ignored to exclude the cable television industry. As per the GO, the state will be under lockdown from 10am on Wednesday (12th May, 2021). There will be relaxation only during 6am to 10am everyday. .
As per the guidelines for the implementation of this GO, 20 categories have been exempted and they are allowed to function to see that all essential services are not interrupted. Those exempted services include Agriculture, MGNREGA, Petrol Pumps, Power supply, Print and TV Media, Construction activity etc., However, the Cable TV industry which plays a key role in distributing tv channels to all the TV households are not included in the list of exempted activities.
The Ministry of Information has categorically mentioned that the services of the cable industry are vital in seamless distribution of TV channels so that the people are made to sit at homes during the pandemic. The ministry has also opined that the successful implementation of lock down depends on how long the people in homes are entertained. t However, the Govt. of Telangana has ignored this crucial industry. Unless the Govt. looks into the matter and issues revised guidelines, the police are likely to obstruct the activities of the cable television people.
