Mobile phone users in Kathua district call local, pay for STD

Sanjay Pathak

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Kathua, March 28

It may sound surprising but it is true that mobile phone subscribers in different parts of Kathua district have to make STD calls in their native places due to poor service being rendered by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The poor BSNL service has been burning a big hole in the pocket of subscribers, who have no option but to make STD calls despite having a mobile number registered in J&K. Reason: they receive mobile signals from the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Poor BSNL connectivity can be gauged from the fact that the signal from the J&K circle disappears after covering a short distance while travelling from Lakhanpur towards Basohli. Interestingly, within a blink of an eye, BSNL subscribers get the message ‘Welcome to Punjab’ on their mobile phone screens.

In such a scenario, the subscribers, willingly or unwillingly, have to prefix zero while dialing a mobile phone number registered in the J&K circle of the BSNL.

A few people may come across the peculiar situation of making STD calls within J&K once in a while, but a large number of people residing between Basantpur and Manu villages are not that fortunate. They have to permanently rely on mobile phone signal from Punjab.

Moreover, there are certain locations in the Dhar area where a mobile phone fails to get a signal either from J&K or the neighbouring state. Similarly, several places on the about 30-km road stretch between Mahanpur and Basohli are receiving mobile phone signal from Punjab.

However, the woes of BSNL subscribers do not end here. They start receiving mobile phone signal from Himachal at many villages, particularly between Jandrali and Kardoh, when they move towards Bani from Basohli. Here again, subscribers have to use STD to make local calls.

Rattan Chand of Kardoh village said mobile phone users had been receiving signal from BSNL towers in Dalhousie, Khairi and other places of Himachal Pradesh.

“In such circumstances, with mobile phones receiving signal from Himachal Pradesh, several locals have bought SIM cards from Himachal Pradesh, but that has problems as well. People have to travel to the neighbouring state for purchasing SIMs and many times again for recharge,” he said.

The free roaming provision has provided some relief to customers as they do not pay for incoming calls.

“BSNL customers are facing this problem of weak signal or no signal for many years, but the department has failed to initiate steps in this regard. It is being felt that we are paying some kind of a tax in our own state through the use of STD service for making a phone call,” said Pardip Kumar, sarpanch of Thein.

Kathua Subdivisional Officer Sanjeev Sharma admitted that people received mobile signals from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.