Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has sought immediate financial assistance to restore telecom services in the flood-hit areas of the Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala circles. To this end, the Sanchar Nigam Executives Association (SNEA) has written to the BSNL, chairman and managing director, P.K. Purwar, seeking ‘special funds’ for the purpose.
According to the SNEA, the ‘special funds’ are required to purchase diesel and meet housekeeping and labour expenses across flood-impacted areas. However, the required amount remained undisclosed.
The recent floods have damaged optical fibre cables (OFC) and disrupted electricity connections, making base transceiver stations (BTSs) and exchanges fully dependant on diesel generators, the letter said. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala circles are facing serious network disruptions and the situation in these circles has worsened due to shortage of funds. In this scenario, the government machinery as well as the public are looking towards BSNL for restoration of telecom services as the rescue operations are fully dependant on telecom services.
