Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation protests against e-ticketing government order

A government order was recently passed in Kerala that all theatres in the state should switch to e-ticketing. Now, the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation (KFEF) has protested against this GO.

A report in The New Indian Express states that the e-ticketing system was based on a software developed by a private company. The KEEF has alleged that the government did not look into the current system and implementing e-ticketing would lead to the monopoly of this software company. Once this government-mandated software is installed, the e-ticketing company would get 50 paisa per ticket. 

The KFEF had called for a strike on Monday but when the government said it will review the order within two months, they withdrew the strike. Some KFEF representatives have told the daily that there are theatres in the state that use the e-ticketing system already from softwares made by various companies.

Federation president Liberty Basheer, was quoted as saying that e-ticketing systems based on softwares like Vista are already in place and multiplexes also have their own software. The order mandating that they use a particular software did not have the right intentions, he said. The Kerala government had reportedly denied permission for some theatres to use their own software. Basheer has stated that the government's decision is unfortunate.