Online services, including the internet and telephone, remained badly disrupted in Haldwani for a fortnight or so due to shutting down of the BSNl’s Kusumkhera exchange.
In the absence of any concrete alternative measures being put in place by BSNl, its customers, particularly the internet users, are the worst affected.
Though officials concerned of the BSNl keep on assuring the affected subscribers of early restoration of its services, there is no development in sight as of now.
Following shutting down of the Kusumkhera exchange, all the communication services- mainly landline phones and internet services— have remained badly hit here in different parts of Haldwani city, including Kusumkhera, Haldwani block area, RTO Road, Gas Godam Road, Pilikothi, Basnt Vihar, lamachaur, Kathghariya, Unchapul, Haripurnaik, Kamluwaganja and Kaladhungi Road to name a few.
Though banks and other online service providers, including cyber cafe owners, have made some alternative arrangements, these makeshift arrangements have proved inadequate to cater to a large number of customers across the region.
Since, BSNl is a major player in the communication sector in the region, the impact of the disruption in its services is severe.
The affected BSNl service users, including the cyber cafe owners, have maintained that BSNl being a leading communication service provider could have made alternative arrangements to maintain its services. But the officials concerned of the BSNl are not interested, they alleged.
Resentment among the people affected due to poor BSNl service keeps mounting.
They are of the view that since the court had given one month to BSNl to shift its exchange from the present site, it should have acted earlier to spare the customers from dragging misery.
Notably, BSNl was running its exchange from a rented accommodation at Kusumkhera. However, a dispute between the house-owner and the BSNl resulted in court’s intervention and finally led to the closure of the BSNl exchange premises at Kusumkhera area on Nov 22.
However, the officials concerned insisted that efforts are on to shift the exchange to a nearby place to restore the services at the earliest. However, the common people are far from being convinced.