Shillong: Residents of over five dozen villages in the northern periphery of Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district have launched an urgent appeal to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, highlighting severe and persistent issues with Bharti Airtel’s mobile network services.
The villagers, predominantly poor tribal pre-paid users, describe the situation as a clear case of negligence and exploitation by the telecom giant, which was tasked under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to provide connectivity in these remote areas.
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In a strongly worded letter addressed to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, the villagers outlined a litany of grievances, asserting that Airtel has “utterly failed in discharging its responsibility.”
They report highly erratic service with frequent and prolonged network outages, often lasting several hours, leaving them cut off from essential services, emergency communications, and financial transactions.
“The service is highly erratic with frequent and prolonged network outages, often lasting several hours. As a result, the villagers, who are mostly poor tribal pre-paid users, remain cut off from essential services, emergency communications, and financial transactions, causing immense hardship,” the letter stated.
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The aggrieved residents revealed that they have previously lodged complaints with the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and even reached out to Union Communication Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Despite these efforts, Airtel’s service in the area has reportedly remained substandard. The villagers also noted their understanding that the Ministry of Communication provides financial support to Airtel to ensure smooth mobile connectivity in their region.
Adding to their frustration, the letter highlighted Airtel’s practice of collecting full advance payments from users despite the unreliable service.
“Despite the repeated failures, Bharti Airtel shamelessly continues to collect full payments (in advance) from the poor tribal users without offering any extension of validity of the plans, or compensation,” the complaint read, labeling this as “not only negligence but also exploitation of marginalized communities.”
The villagers have urged Chief Minister Sangma’s intervention, requesting him to engage directly with Sunil Bharti Mittal, the promoter of Bharti Airtel.
Their demands include holding Airtel accountable for its poor service delivery, informing the Department of Telecommunications for an urgent technical audit, considering alternative service providers if Airtel fails to meet its obligations, and compensating villagers for prolonged service outages and inconvenience.