Travel 8kms to make a call: Tomabattu

Kundapura: The countdown for 5G has begun in India. But in Kundapura, there exists a village which, let alone 4G and 3G, has never witnessed any G’s. To make a call, residents of this village have to travel at least 8- 10.5kms.

There are as many as 300 houses and more than 1000 residents at Tombattu village which is in a naxalite prone area and lies close to Hosangady and Amasebailu. Though this village has road, electricity and bus facilities, in this modern age where a mobile is essential during an emergency, there is absolutely no network in this village putting it in a very miserable situation.

If a resident of Tombattu village needs to make an urgent call, he must travel a distance of 8kms to Hosangady or 10.5kms to Amasebailu. Other than this, there is no alternate option.

The government has not given importance

“This area is a hilly area. If someone falls sick in the night and does not own a private vehicle, it will be very difficult to shift the person to the nearest hospital. The residents here are suffering from meny years due to the complete lack of mobile network. The government must prioritize the setting up of mobile network here,” said Bhavya, a Tombattu resident.

Though it is the dream of PM Narendra Modi to provide mobile and internet contact throughout India, there still exists a few villages in Kundapur where the network has never reached.

Contact after survey

“Mobile companies themselves conduct surveys to locate areas without network coverage. They then give use the result. This time, there has been no demand for provision of network from anywhere in Udupi district. Tombattu or Kelasunka villages may get it in the next survey,” said Rekha Bhat, DGO, BSNL Udupi.

Letter to MP

“It has been observed that the residents of Tombattu village are suffering due to the lack of mobile network, on which a letter has been written to MP. A request has been sent to BSNL GM. It shall be seen to it that the network will be provided soon

We have sent more-than-enough requests to the MLA’s, MP’s and related persons on the issue. But not one of them has responded. The current MLA has given hopes. Immediately, efforts must be put into this,” said Krishna Shetty, from Shakehaklu Tombattu.