BSNL DOWNGRADED IN KODAGU;

Madikeri December 17, 2005

To the much annoyance of residents of kodagu, Bharatiya Sanchar nigam Limited is being down graded here.

The department has removed the General managers post after the transfer of Mani, who was serving as a Gm here. Reliable sources have said that the post looked after by an officer in charge from Mysore is no more connected to the management here.

The service of BSNL, including landline and mobile is totally unreliable and unsatisfying, complain the customers. Though the BSNL enjoys more than sixty thousand landline customers in the district, the department says that it is earning no profit here and is forced to remove the GMs post.

The department in the district lacks sincere administrators. It has 150 generators in the district. However, around 75 of them are under repair and are catching rust and dust. An under officer who wished to maintain anonymity told this correspondent that the higher ups are not interested to improve the service and nobody cares even if the machinery is collapsing. Lack of generators obviously means that the service is badly suffering.

Even the temporary and part time workers appointed to carry out service are badly paid. Their contractors who take signature for full payment are paying them less, hampering the service. According to a source workers who sign for rupees 3300 get only rupees 1200. Those who sign on voucher for rupees 5,300 are paid only rupees 2886.

Added to the list of blunders and mismanagement in the department is erecting towers at wrong positions. It is complained that towers are erected at wrong places by paying huge land rent, where it is not required. Somwarpet is an example for non scientific erection of tower. Customers there complain that the mobile network is not accessible from many points even though the department has two towers in the small town.

Customers have cautioned that the government should take immediate initiative to rectify the faults, reinstate the GMs post and provide better service.