TURA: Hundreds of subscribers belonging to the public sector mobile network company BSNL-Cellone residing in several localities of Tura town are facing repeated network disruptions compelling them to seek the services of other private network operators.
To make matters worse, the BSNL crews in the town appear unable to rectify the problem despite frequent complaints from subscribers.
The most affected are consumers residing in the localities of Ringrey, Upper Chandmari and lower Chandmari, Wadanang, Sampalgre, Chitoktak, Alotgre and adjoining areas.
It has been four days, since Wednesday, that subscribers have been unable to connect through the company’s Cellone network. Subscribers complain that there is no effort from the BSNL authorities to inform the public nor get the problem restored at the earliest.
The Shillong Times made several attempts on Thursday to connect to those manning the station without any success as calls were redirected from one number to another.
One official claimed that the problem was due to a “media problem” but did not elaborate any further.
“We are post paid subscribers of BSNL and paying our bills including taxes every month and yet the company cannot provide even the basic facilities. They make us pay for entire month services even when we cannot utilise it for several days. It is tantamount to cheating subscribers,” angry subscribers complain.
Many of the subscribers, both pre and post paid, are connected to their financial transaction work through BSNL and as a result their work is seriously hampered each time the network collapses.
“Some of us are the earliest subscribers to Cellone when it was first launched in Tura over 15 years ago. But the service has gone from bad to worse. I was unable to even book any train or flight ticket online for my children who came down for the Easter holidays since my bank account is linked to the BSNL number and the network was down. Now I have to pay a much higher fare,” lamented another subscriber.
Interestingly, the BSNL services have witnessed frequent problems only in the above mentioned localities whereas the Tura market area has been experiencing uninterrupted network leading many to question the technical and maintenance crew capability given that this has been a long lingering issue that frequently crops up every year.