Nepal earthquake: BSNL, others pitch in with local, free calls

As a massive earthquake rocked Nepal, telecom major Airtel today announced free calls to Nepal on its network over the next 48 hours, while state-run BSNL and MTNL decided to charge local rates for calls made to the Himalayan nation for the next three days.

"We are deeply saddened by the severe impact that one of the worst earthquakes in Nepal has had on the lives of its people," Airtel said in a statement.

"As a small gesture during this hour of crisis, we have decided to offer all calls on the Airtel network from India to Nepal completely free of cost for the next 48 hours effective midnight, thus enabling customers across the country get in touch with their families and friends in Nepal," it added.

The move from Airtel came within couple of hours after public sector firm BSNL announced it will charge all calls made from its network to Nepal as per local rates for the next three days.

"All calls that will be made from BSNL network will be charged as per local call rates for next three days," BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.

The normal charge for a call to Nepal from BSNL network costs a consumer Rs 10 per minute.

He added that BSNL customers would be billed for calls made to Nepal as per the local call rates they had opted for themselves.

"People have opted for different kind of plans. Those who have opted for per second billing plan will be charged as per their plan and those who have opted for per minute calling will be charged on per minute basis. So, now they can make calls to Nepal for about one paisa per second or Re1/minute," Shrivastava said.

Another public sector firm MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, also announced a similar plan.

"We have decided to make all calls local for next three days starting this midnight which is April 26 onward," MTNL Director for Human Resource and Technical Sunil Kumar said. MTNL call rates to Nepal varies from plan to plan in the range of Rs 7-10.
Nearly 700 people were killed after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale struck Nepal today flattening houses and buildings including the centuries-old Dharhara tower and triggering an avalanche on Mt Everest.

Meanwhile, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Rakesh Garg to take stock of the damage to telecom network in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh due to the earthquake and initiate measures to restore the network.

The statement added Chief General Managers of BSNL in Bihar and UP have been directed to assess damage and draw emergency plans to restore communication in the affected areas.

"Instructions have also been given to inform the Minister on hourly bases on the progress achieved," it added.