BSNl-run communication services like internet have been disrupted in many parts of Haldwani for nearly a month. Though officials concerned at BSNl claim to have taken steps to smoothen the connectivity, the affected Kushumkhera exchange was shut down on November 22 letting internet services affect in a bad shape. Professionals, internet users and cyber café-owners, continue to suffer due to the poor network.
Some of the areas where the communication services have been hit include Kushumkhera, its adjacent areas like RTO office Road, Gas Godam Road, Pushp Vihar, Uttaranchal Colony, lamachaur, Kathghariya, Unchapul, Haripurnaik, and Kamluwaganja, to name a few. The BSNl office, which was running its exchange from a rented accommodation at Kushumkhera, was shut down on November 22, due to a dispute between the house-owner and the BSNl. Since then, the officials concerned of the BSNl are claiming to have shifted the exchange to a nearby area to restore its communication network. However, things are still in doldrums with the internet service users who are at the receiving end of the problem.
Since BSNl enjoys the largest share of communication market here, the number of the affected people is huge. Though banks and some other online service providers, including the cyber café owners have made some alternative arrangements, these makeshift arrangements have not proved to be sufficient for the region. The company could have made some alternative arrangements to maintain its services, but the officials concerned are nonchalant, alleged Mahesh Sonwal, a cyber café owner at Kushumkhera. We have hired services of some other companies but these alternative arrangements are costly, Sonwal added.