BENGALURU: Residents living near Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara are once again distressed due to the Tower Harmonics Call-Blocking System (T-HCBS) installed at the prison. Even residents using LAN (Local Area Network) WiFi are experiencing disruptions due to signal blockage from jammers over the past week.
Atish Bandyopadhyay, a software engineer and resident of Boston Block in Parappana Agrahara, opposite the prison, told TNIE that the prison department may have increased the amplitude of jammers, causing difficulties for residents in making WiFi calls. Residents are already facing call interruptions and are struggling to receive OTPs, which affects online banking.
Now, even WiFi calls are unreliable, making everyday tasks and communication even harder. He also noted that most residents rely on routers at home to make calls. The core committee of the residents’ association is planning signing a petition along with representatives of Kudla residents to demand the removal of jammers in the prison and will submit the petition to DGP prison.
Additionally, the committee has decided to stage protests in the next few days under the banner ‘Say No to Jail Jammer Towers (T-HCBS)’. They argue that poor network coverage disrupts online classes, emergency services, food deliveries, and UPI payments, severely impacting daily life.
Santhosh, another resident, said, “It is the duty of prison staff to ensure that inmates do not have access to communication devices. If they do their job properly, there would be no need for jammers. Instead, these jammers not only cut off inmates from the outside world but also infringe on our rights. With many residents working in IT and ITeS companies, we are struggling to work from home or even do something as basic as ordering food online.”
On X, Arivarasu urged the Office of the OSD to the Karnataka CM stating, “We have received no updates regarding the HCBS jammer, which is affecting thousands of people. With exams approaching, many students are unable to study online.”
In another post, he highlighted a tragic incident from a few months ago when a man died because an ambulance could not be called due to the network blackout. “If Tihar jail, spread across 400 plus acres, has just one jammer, why should Bengaluru Central jail require multiple jammers?” he questioned.