Summary:
New Delhi: The coronavirus public service announcement voiced by superstar Amitabh Bachchan ringing out before phone calls connect will be replaced with a new one on Friday, a day before the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are given out, government sources have said.
The caller tune, listing the safety measures for the pandemic, has faced growing resentment as the pandemic has dragged on with many complaining about being forced to listen to it every time a phone call is made.
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New Delhi: The coronavirus public service announcement voiced by superstar Amitabh Bachchan ringing out before phone calls connect will be replaced with a new one on Friday, a day before the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are given out, government sources have said.
The caller tune, listing the safety measures for the pandemic, has faced growing resentment as the pandemic has dragged on with many complaining about being forced to listen to it every time a phone call is made.
The new caller tune will have a female voice and will be used for awareness about the COVID-19 vaccination drive, government sources said.
The campaign featuring Mr Bachchan had prompted a public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court earlier this month, asking for it to be dropped, according to news agency PTI.
The petition, filed by a Delhi resident, said the government engaged and retained Mr Bachchan to spread awareness about the preventive measures to fight the COVID-19 even though the superstar himself as well as other members of his family had been infected.
The petition requested the court to direct the government to have the announcement replaced by famous coronavirus warriors who were willing to give their services for free.
Before Mr Bachchan, the coronavirus caller tune introduced last year had featured a voiceover artist Jasleen Bhalla.
Before that, in March, the government had made telecom operators carry an even more contentious caller tune that began with the sound of a cough, alarming many callers.