CHENNAI: For the second successive day, most of Chennai was out of coverage area for the cellphone networks. Even to those who had the network reach, it lasted hardly for a minute to complete a conversation. Broadband internet connections too were erratic.
“It feels like we are cut off from the world. Our relatives are unable to contact us and the SMSes reach us when we get a single point tower occasionally,” says K Giridharan, a resident of Nolambur.
BSNL officials say mixing of rain water with diesel tanks in the gensets of most of the cellphone towers has made them dysfunctional.
“We are in discussion with Indian Oil Corporation to provide us diesel. Then the network would be restored,” Kalavathy, chief general manager, Bsnl Chennai Telephones told Express.