Purulia Association goes in for registration

Purulia IT Association (PITA) is on the way to get itself registered after

one and a half years of formation. The delay was owing to the complexity of

legal hassles. The association, existing for more than one and half years has so

long been going unregistered as there was no urgency or need of having a

registration certificate. Now, the association is planning to hold an expo in

Purulia and various clearance certificates are required in this process. Thus,

PITA is on the way to get a registration certificate by the end of the next

month.

A local IT dealer's association, PITA consists of 16 dealers in the city and

was formed as a consequence of the Microsoft raids and tender poaching by

dealers in the big cities. During its formation, the dealers elected an interim

committee to conduct its functions and the same committee is continuing since

the last formation. However, the association will soon be going for polls after

the registration process is complete.

“About two years back, we received intimation from South Bengal IT

Association telling us about the raids Microsoft was conducting. In big cities

like Kolkata, the problem can be dealt with properly owing to the unity and the

strength of the big association. We felt a similar need for Purulia and taking

the initiative, we thought of forming a forum for dealers to face the wrath of

Microsoft,” said Krishna G Mallick, Interim Secretary, PITA.

Further, the problem in Purulia is acute. The primary vertical in the city is

the end-user segment followed by the government vertical. So far, the state

government, in its plans for the SWAN project and e-learning initiatives has

invested much in Purulia. However, PITA accused that big dealers from Kolkata

and other cities were encroaching on the territory and local dealers were losing

heavily on local projects. Thus, dealers in Purulia came up with the idea of

having solidarity and a forum where they could ensure that outside dealers are

not able to poach local projects.

“Dealers from the big cities do not have any installation bases here and

numerous service issues cropped up. We felt that if we could contend in the

tenders ensuring local supply and proper after sales support, it would be better

for the customer itself,” Mallick added.

Purulia is a small city bordering Jharkhand on the West where growth has not

been rocketing but it is substantial for existence. There is the problem of the

Maoists coupled with infrastructural and growth issues, but PITA has claimed

that it rarely affects the business in the city.

Commenting over the upcoming plans of PITA, Mallik concluded, “We are

planning to hold an expo this time to generate more business and are awaiting

the clearance of the registration process in this regard. Also, being a local

forum, for the time being, we have no plans to expand to other territory and are

content till dealer issues are raised and dealt with properly.”