People in many villages of Suntikoppa region are cursing the BSNL as they have been facing a lot of technical glitches in the network for the past several months.
Especially, the students who are taking online classes are bearing the brunt of poor network.
Citizens of seven to eight villages are deprived of proper network connectivity owing to the lack of maintenance by the BSNL.
Power cuts are common in the region and as and when there is a disruption in the power supply, the mobile phone and landline connectivity gets disrupted.
Even though the villagers have requested the telecom department to find a solution, it has been of no use, said Sachin, a resident of Garvale.
Malfunctioning tower
A BSNL tower in Haraga near Somwarpet has been lacking maintenance for the last several years.
There was good service from BSNL during the initial days. The public alleged that the tower is not maintained well. There is a shortage of maintenance staff as well.
The situation worsens when the region receives rain and poor network connection continues for 15 to 20 days, said the villagers.
As the government has directed the schools to conduct online classes, the students are in need of internet connectivity. However, due to a lack of network coverage in the region, the classes are affected.
Even though a private telecom company has installed towers in Surlabbi and Garvale, the authorities have not charged the tower, quoting technical reasons.
Villagers of Garvale-Surlabbi, G A Shivkumar, G K Vinod, C P Santhosh, G P Milan and G S Changappa have urged the government to take measures to provide network connectivity in the region, through BSNL.
If the BSNL cannot ensure proper network coverage, the maintenance should be given to private companies, they said.