Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, Nov 6: It is learnt that Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) has been severing power supply to telephone exchanges because of pending bills. The people are made to suffer as a result.
Power supply to telephone exchanges at Tallur, Karkunje, Alur, Bellala, Gangolli etc has been snapped. After Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd officials pleaded with the Mescom officials, power supply was resumed in a couple of cases, but unless bills are cleared, the threat of the supply getting cut off looms large.
It is said that BSNL has been trying to clear bills of bigger telephone exchanges as a result of which small ones are neglected. A number of mobile towers are falling silent because of lack of grants for diesel for generators.
It is said that the union telecom secretary, Anshu Prakash, had written to the chief secretary of Karnataka, asking him to direct electricity sulpply companies not to cut power supply to wireless exchanges even if bills are not cleared till March 31, 2020, by which time, arrangements would be made to meet the bills. Union minister, Ravishankar Prasad, and BSNL chief general manager, Sushil Kumar Mishra, had also contacted the chief secretary on this issue. But the Mescom has received orders to cut power supply wherever bill payment is pending.
Deputy general manager of BSNL Udupi, Vijayalakshmi Acharya, said that BSNL has been making part payment of electricity bills as and when revenue is generated and that the concerned have been asked not to cut power supply till March next. It is said that the problem faced by rural areas where private operators do not provide service, on account of power supply getting severed has been brought to the notice of the people's representatives including the MP.
BSNL has 9.10 lac landlines, 2.96 lac broad band internet connections, 72 lac mobile connections, 53,700 high speed broadband connections, and 21,200 leased lines in Karnataka. It has 2,958 telephone exchanges, 5,743 2G rowers and 3,370 3G towers.