Central station telegraph office faces closure threat

The future of the telegraph office at Chennai Central railway station lies in the balance, following a spat between BSNL Chennai Telephones and the Railways over rental.

The difference of opinion also extends to whether the telegraph office is functioning as a public utility or as a commercial outlet.

The Railways is demanding rent at commercial rates for roughly 650 sqft while Chennai Telephones argues for a concessional rent as the telegraph and public call office was a convenience for the travelling public.

BSNL sources said the department could ill afford the commercial rates proposed by Railways and had no option but to close down the facility.

The BSNL, which approached Railways some time ago with a proposal to construct an additional storey as part of establishing a full-fledged Customer Service Centre (CSC) was told to pay monthly rent at the rate of Rs. 58 per sq ft for the 650-sq ft space and also to cough up nearly Rs. 30 lakh as arrears (calculated from the year 2000 when BSNL became a public sector undertaking).