NEW DELHI: Telecom services in flood-hit Kashmir Valley are slowly being restored with BSNL resuming connectivity to 7,000 landline phones and 14 mobile towers in Srinagar city.
Private sector operator Bharti Airtel’s network has been restored in Jammu, Kargil, Ladakh and Leh. Airtel said inter operator roaming has been configured – thus allowing customers to make calls by latching onto other networks in areas where Airtel network is yet to be restored.
Aircel is providing connectivity to people through its 3G sites and is also working to restore 2G sites.
State-run BSNL said 14 base transceiver stations (BTS) or mobile towers are functioning in Srinagar providing connectivity to 15,000 mobile phones whereas 7,000 landline connections and 2,000 broadband connections are also working.
The operator said another 40 BTS will start functioning later today at 10 PM with restoration of another mobile exchange.
Flood waters started receding in Kashmir Valley today.
Bharti Airtel’s network has been restored in Jammu, Kargil, Ladakh and Leh. Airtel said inter operator roaming has been configured – thus allowing customers to make calls by latching onto other networks in areas where Airtel network is yet to be restored.
Aircel is providing connectivity to people through its 3G sites and is also working to restore 2G sites.
Bharti Infratel which provides tower infrastructure to mobile operators said 35 of its sites in Kashmir Valley are up and running and in the next couple of days, large chunk of its network will be restored.
Bharti Infratel MD DS Rawat said the firm has around 1400 sites in valley and full restoration will take around a week but a large chunk will be restored in next couple of days.
He said 600-700 sites are up but they are not connected to Srinagar, which is the common aggregation point for valley. Rawat added in the next few days, the sites will be connected to Srinagar.
Bharti Infratel has set up three war rooms in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi to tackle the crises.
Airtel said 5 VSAT terminals with WiFi equipment were flown into Srinagar Airport yesterday and it has thereafter set up a public WiFi Hotspot, allowing everyone to use data services.
BSNL has set up two PCOs at the Srinagar airport where people can make free calls.
Airtel will install 4 more VSAT terminals in strategic locations as directed by rescue teams for public access to WiFi.
Airtel has set up free calling stations at various relief camps across J&K and free talk time worth 50 minutes has been credited to all Airtel mobile customers in Kashmir.
Idea Cellular said it is also auto-crediting Rs 12 in the accounts of customers with low balance, in Srinagar region, to ensure that such people are able to make emergency calls if stranded.
Idea said its teams are working 24X7 to restore network in the affected areas, and ensure continuity of services.
Search engine Google has also launched a web application Person Finder that allows individuals to post the details of, and search for the status of, family members or friends affected by the disaster.
“To make emergency information available immediately, we have also launched a Onebox on Google Search in Hindi and English. This provides helpline information of the Army, Home Ministry, and NDRF Control Room,” Google said.
BSNL said the company has around 2126 mobile sites in J&K and 934 were affected by the disaster of which 32 have been restored.
The firm has 371 telephone exchanges of which 121 got affected and 31 have been restored so far.
BSNL has also set up 5 satellite terminals in Srinagar including at the residence of Chief Minister, Raj Bhawan and DG Police. It will set up another 5 terminals tomorrow at locations asked by the State Government.
Flood waters started receding in Kashmir Valley today giving a chance to civil and military rescue teams to reach lakhs of stranded people.
The floods were stated to be the worst in 109 years after rains pummelled the State on September 2. (AGENCIES)
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