By Vishal Bharti
Jammu, Sep 26 (UNI) With only Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited landlines being made operational in Jammu and Kashmir, the snapped mobile internet has come as a blessing in disguise for the state-run telecom operator, as more than 10,000 broadband connections have been installed in Jammu district, post abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
As mobile and internet services remained suspended, since scrapping of Articles 370 and 35 A on August 5 by the Centre, thousands of applications have been received by various offices of BSNL across the region, seeking fresh landline connections or restoration of the disconnected numbers for broadband facility.
'So far since August 5, over 10,000 broadband connections have been installed in parts of Jammu district,' a BSNL official here told UNI.
He added that there are around 50 exchanges in the district and each of them has entertained nearly 600-700 applications so far, which means that more than 10,000 connections have been installed across the district.
'The applications received in various offices, either sought restoration of old connections by clearing their pending bills or new connections have been applied,' an official added.
He also said that there is huge rush of customers in BSNL offices and it is becoming hard to cater to them. 'The department also fell short of modems following which, customers are purchasing the devices from the markets,' he added.
He further said the customers have applied for plans of Rs 300, Rs 2400 and also the BSNL's latest - Fibre, introduced by the company, having high speed.
Mobile internet service was snapped on August 5, the day the Government of India announced revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union territories.
However, the BSNL offices for the past one week are facing tough times, in view of heavy rush of people standing in long queues, to apply for landline connections.
The crisis-ridden BSNL is making efforts to revive itself.
State-owned distressed telecom firms Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and BSNL have been incurring losses and facing problems in clearing staff salaries in the recent past.
BSNL's loss is estimated to be around Rs 14,000 crore, with a decline in revenue to Rs 19,308 crore, during 2018-19.
The number of employees in BSNL stands at 1,65,179.
UNI VBH RJ 1558