PERAMBALUR: Students in Nattarmangalam village are finding it difficult to attend online classes due to weak telecom signals. Most of the time, they go to the terraces or a particular spot in the village where the signals are strong enough to allow them to attend classes.
Nattarmangalam, in Alathur taluk, is surrounded by hills and the nearest mobile phone towers are in Chettikulam, 3 kilometers away, where a few private players and BSNL have erected towers.
Aravinth, a resident of Nattarmangalam said, “We can access internet only if we move outside the village, because we are surrounded by hills. Throughout the day, we go to my terrace to attend a call or use the internet. There was a BSNL tower in my village but it was damaged years ago. But, no official took action on this. During the lockdown, we could not work from home due to the lack of signals.” he added.
M Nandhini, a Third-year engineering student, said, “I used to attend online classes from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm for over a week. I often exit from the class due to a poor network connection. Also, at noon, we are forced to study under the sun.
So, we have set up a thatched roof on the terrace of my house and attending the online class with my friends,” she added B Swetha who is studying chartered accountant said, “We go three kilometres away from my village for signals and attend classes sitting under a tree.
Even from there, we could not hear the teachers talking in the online class. The government should take immediate action in this regard and set up the cell phone tower in our village.”
When contacted, Perambalur BSNL official said, “There is a network issue because of the mountains the region. We will inspect the villages and take action.”
Not just students, officials in the post office and E-service centre in Nattarmangalam complain of weak phone signals.