Amid a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is some good news for state-run BSNL subscribers. For those people whose validity expired during the last week, BSNL has decided to extend the validity of all such subscribers till April 20 at no extra cost.
The service provider has decided to offer an extension of validity to help mobile subscribers to receive incoming calls, BSNL said in a statement.
In addition to this, BSNL will also provide free talk time of Rs.10 to all such subscribers who reach zero balance during the duration of the lockdown. These facilities will be extended to help BSNL mobile subscribers communicate in an emergency.
“BSNL firmly stands with its subscribers during this crisis and we request the subscribers to “Go Digital” for recharging their accounts. Several options available for recharge include MyBSNL mobile app, BSNL website and other popular wallet services,” Praveen Kumar Purwar, CMD, BSNL said.
A day earlier, on Sunday, the Congress party had written to owners of Jio, Vodafone-Idea, BSNL and Airtel seeking free calls on their networks for migrants amid the lockdown in the country due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease.
“Congress has written to Mukesh Ambani (Jio), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Vodafone-Idea), PK Purwar (BSNL), and Sunil Bharti Mittal (Airtel) urging them to make incoming-outgoing calls free on their networks, for one month, for migrants amid the lockdown due to coronavirus,” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said.
In the letter, Priyanka Gandhi had written: “Telecommunications companies can have a positive impact on the present situation. Many people who are going home have exhausted their mobile recharges. This means that they cannot make calls to their relatives.”
“I request you to continue the incoming and outgoing facilities on your network for the next month for free of cost. This will help people who are facing hardship due to travel to communicate with their relatives,” she had added.