ITI Palakkad facing financial crisis: RS member

Rajya Sabha member M P Veerendra Kumar claimed that BSNL and MTNL owned Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) in Kerala is experiencing cash crunch and may affect the employees.

New Delhi:Rajya Sabha member M P Veerendra Kumar on Friday, said that state-owned ITI Ltd's unit in Palakkad was facing a serious financial crisis and nearly 450 people would be rendered jobless.

Though the unit was doing exemplary work on different projects, it is yet to realise its dues from different companies, he said during the Zero Hour in the Upper House.

"Due to this non-realisation of funds, a profit-making unit, ITI, is facing an extremely difficult situation in terms of payment of salaries and meeting day-to-day expenditure," he said.

He sought the intervention of telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for release of payments from BSNL AND MTNL.

ITI was the first public sector undertaking of India under the Ministry of Communication.