Customers upset with BSNL services

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 6

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the only broadband operator in Jammu and Kashmir, is allegedly fleecing its customers by not providing hassle-free Internet services. Officials of the company are reluctant to repair their poor infrastructure.

The BSNL has recorded a rapid growth in the number of its customers after August 5 following the abrogation of Article 370, as the mobile Internet was snapped down in Jammu and Kashmir and only broadband was allowed to provide its services in the Jammu region.

Customers are fuming over the low bandwidth and disrupted services due to technical glitches, despite paying hefty monthly charges they are not getting proper services.

“We are paying for the broadband connection because our work depends on Internet. But the BSNL is not caring about the customers’ satisfaction, as it works as per the sweet will of its employees,” said Shrawan Dhar, a resident of Roop Nagar.

“There are many joints on the wire and when we lodge a complaint they close the complaint without attending to it. Even the SDO concerned never take our phone calls,” he added.

Sources revealed that the BSNL, which is already on the verge of bankruptcy, does not want to spend money on the infrastructure as they don’t even have sufficient funds for the salary of its employees.

“The Internet snapdown has increased the revenue of the BSNL manifold, as people have no other option but to install broadband and fiber services. The officials have been instructed not to increase the cost by upgrading the infrastructure,” a source informed.

The source also informed that the company had not even recruited linemen to address the complaints, as they were hiring retired persons on minimum wages to get the work done.

“Whenever we lodge a complaint, we get a message with the name and contact number of the person who will rectify the complaint. But that number is either switched off or does not exist. The company is looting the helpless people who have no other option but to bear the highhandedness of the officials of the BSNL,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Chinore area.

“We do not have any other option, otherwise BSNL, which is not even being used by its own officials, will never be the preference. We hope the government will pull the ban on immobile Internet soon, so that we get rid of this mess,” he added.

Like other officials of the BSNL, the Chief General Manager, RK Verma, was unavailable for comment and Principal General Manager, Wasim Kazmi refused to comment on the issue saying, “I am busy now”.