The Hindu Business Line : Grasso draws up plan for networking villages

But curiously discrete villages do not figure on the "communication superhighway'' that should have linked north Bengal pineapple growers with New York or London supermarkets on a real time basis.

This lacuna is being sought to be repaired by an NGO in collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and the West Bengal Government.

For the first time in the country, Grameen Sanchar Society (Grasso), the NGO, is building an IT-enabled integrated rural communication network through mobile telephony and net-based info-kiosks.

According to Mr Nilotpan Basu, Chairman, Grasso, the organisation has undertaken a programme to link villages in all 17 districts of the State through a self-employment scheme.

This month, in a very literal sense, Grasso has begun its effort to "pedal'' communication infrastructure to the village markets in eight districts in north and south Bengal.

"By July 2004, the villages throughout the length and breadth of the State will be connected to the communication highway with the help of an army of 21,000 self-employed persons,'' Mr Basu said.

The concept, which was rolled out this week, envisages PCOs "mobile'' on a cycle and equipped with WiLL sets and patch panel antennae that will link the sets to any of the BSNL's 76 base stations in the State. One such PCO will serve a 25 sq km area.

In the second tier of the e-village plan, there will be stationary info-kiosks with net connections. If required, the PCOs will link the consumer to the kiosks.

According to Mr Prithipal Singh, CMD, BSNL, "if successful, we will replicate the operational model elsewhere in the country''. The financial model adopted is viable for BSNL as also for the entrepreneur, Mr Singh added. The West Bengal Government will provide loans to the interested entrepreneur to extent of 80 per cent.

Mr Basu pointed out that most of the applicants (6,800 till now) have not applied for loans so far.

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