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Business News/ Industry / Telecom/  Changing tech sounds the death knell for telegrams
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Changing tech sounds the death knell for telegrams

Telegram service that started 163 years ago will not be sent in India starting 15 July

The first telegraph lines in India were laid in 1850 by the East India Company to connect Kolkata—then called Calcutta—and Diamond Harbour. At a length of just 43.5km, the line was a humble beginning that received a major impetus after Lord Dalhousie encouraged its development. Photo: Mint (Mint)Premium
The first telegraph lines in India were laid in 1850 by the East India Company to connect Kolkata—then called Calcutta—and Diamond Harbour. At a length of just 43.5km, the line was a humble beginning that received a major impetus after Lord Dalhousie encouraged its development. Photo: Mint
(Mint)

New Delhi: No telegrams will be sent in India starting 15 July, confining to the history books a service that started 163 years ago, but has been rapidly overtaken by technological advances and modern tools of communications.

The ubiquity of mobile phones and emails, and the rising cost of sending telegrams may have led to this decision, although a notice on the termination of the service issued by Shameem Akhtar, senior general manager of telegraph services at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), did not mention any specific reason.

“The service is no more relevant because of new technologies," said R.K. Upadhyay, chairman and managing director of state-owned BSNL. “It was a loss-making business for us."

The personnel manning telegraph services will be deployed within three months to mobile services, landline telephony and broadband services.

“There were only 75 exclusive officers remaining who were involved with the telegraph services," said Upadhyay. “Everybody will be re-absorbed in other departments."

Faced with declining revenue, the government in May 2011 revised telegram charges after a gap of 60 years. Telegram charges for inland services were hiked to 27.50 from 3.50.

The decline of telegraph services in the 1990s was largely the result of growing rivalry between the telephone and telegraph departments, C.V. Gopinath, a former deputy director general of telegraph services, said in an interview in September 2008.

The telephone department took all the new developments of non-voice services such as fax, data communications, and video and text services under its purview, leaving the telegraph with no option to diversify, he said.

An attempt by the department to start Express Money Service was stopped after a trial period of a couple of years. “We introduced the service, which was an idea that was later taken up by Western Union money transfer service. In six hours’ time, we would deliver the money. Otherwise, we used to refund the commission charges. The telephone people didn’t allow us to sustain that," Gopinath said.

The first telegraph lines in India were laid in 1850 by the East India Company to connect Kolkata—then called Calcutta—and Diamond Harbour. At a length of just 43.5km, the line was a humble beginning that received a major impetus after Lord Dalhousie encouraged its development.

“The first war of independence in 1857 failed because of this telegraph technology," Gopinath said.

“Lord Dalhousie once said that the telegraph saved India (for the British)."

PTI contributed to this report.

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Published: 12 Jun 2013, 04:36 PM IST
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