Landslide-hit Kerala villages await phone services

People in Kanjirappuzha panchayat in Palakkad district say internet and mobile phone services remain disrupted after a 2019 landslide knocked out phone towers in the area.

Palakkad: A landslide in 2019 in Kerala's Palakkad district damaged mobile phone towers cutting off people's communications lines. Ward 5 and 6 in Kanjirappuzha panchayat remains badly hit as connectivity has not been restored.

When the world turned to internet-based services as the COVID tightened its grip, the people in the district remained in misery. They could not even call the emergency services.

No internet or mobile network in these times of pandemic means no work and no studies. A few affluent people in the area could secure WiFi connections on the optical fibre network and arrange for alternative means.

However, the majority of them were left in the lurch without mobile service and internet access.

Some of the mobile service providers had earlier visited the place to acquire land for towers. But, they pointed at technical hurdles and withdrew their plans.

The local residents say they are ready to offer land for towers but there are no takers from the government or private companies.