The conditional access system rollout in Mumbai and Kolkata may face the same fate as in Delhi. The central government is likely to postpone the rollout in these two cities too.
A final decision, however, will be taken only after the return of Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad from Italy.
"The minister will consult the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani before taking the decision," I&B ministry sources said.
According to sources, the Shiv Sena's opposition to CAS is the main reason for the government's willingness to postpone its rollout in Mumbai. Sena chief Bal Thakeray has called a cable operators' meeting on Sunday to oppose CAS.
The Centre is also facing opposition from the West Bengal government. The Left Front government has convened a meeting of chief ministers of Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to review CAS.
"When we planned the rollout, we did not expect resistance from the state governments. We are looking at ways to sort out the issue," said a senior I&B ministry official.
He also said since the rollout had been put off in Delhi under political pressure, the Centre was under similar pressure from other state governments also.
In Chennai, where CAS has been rolled out, the government has received a large number of complaints from consumers on the availability and prices of set-top boxes.
Besides, the prices of cable channels have also not been fixed because broadcasters and the cable operators are yet to reach an agreement on the prices. Sources said a team of I&B ministry official would visit Chennai to sort out those issues.
With the fist phase of CAS rollout in trouble, officials said the notification on the second phase would take more time.
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