Tsunami costs BSNL Rs 100 cr

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has estimated its losses from the tsunami that hit southern India on December 26 at a little over a Rs 100 crore.

According to BSNL executives, the replacement of damaged equipment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands accounted for almost a third the damages.

"We have spent about Rs 30 crore for new communication equipment in the Andamans," said an executive.

The total damage in Tamil Nadu, including the cost of rebuilding and replacement, has been assessed at Rs 20 crore. Twelve exchanges in the state were damaged by the tsunami waves.

Replacements apart, as per BSNL estimates, the operational costs too runs into a couple of crores considering that a good amount of the equipment had to be airlifted to the Andamans.

Airlifted infrastructure included multiple-channel per carrier (MCPC) satellite equipment (to Hutbay island), exchange equipment and optical fibre cable. Also, two INMARSAT terminals were transported by helicopter to the Katchal Island.

BSNL teams also had to establish new exchanges in both the Hutbay, Champin and Teressa Islands, as the existing infrastructure there had been damaged beyond repair.

"The figure adds up to Rs 100 crore when we also take our revenue loss into consideration. We are not charging for calls in the affected areas until January 15. Even rentals for this period will not be collected. Besides, we have also put in free public telephones in all relief camps in Tamil Nadu and Port Blair," said a company executive.

According to BSNL executives, about Rs 6 crore worth of free calls have been made thus far. "By January 15, we expect this figure to cross Rs 10 crore," he added.

The telecom operator has also tied up with Zee TV, where its subscribers can SMS the amount they want to contribute, which would be then be collected by BSNL and sent to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.