Telephonic search engines put on hold because of Ayodhya

“We will not be able to message you the details. Kindly note down the contact number and address of your desired location.”

This is an unlikely response from the operator of a telephonic search engine like Just Dial which usually insists on SMSing the details on your mobile phone. However, since September 24, it has been asking customers to do just that.

With the government barring bulk message service providers from sending out SMSes till the Ayodhya verdict is out, telephonic helplines have been asking customers to manually make a note of the desired information.

Mehul Vyas, quality analyst at Just Dial said, “We can email the information too, but messaging is not allowed for the time being, perhaps because the government cannot monitor the content.”

Ashok Rawat, a consumer rights activist, said, “Helplines per se do not cause any trouble. So it remains to be seen why this measure had to be put in place. They may have thought it fit to take this kind of step because of a lack of scrutinising machines.”

In order to ensure miscreants are unable to exploit the SMS service to spread rumours, the ministry of telecommunication has banned bulk SMSes till the Ayodhya verdict is out. The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi issue is scheduled to come up for hearing on Tuesday in the Supreme Court.