A BSNL tower has been sanctioned for Varamballi in Hosanagar taluk of Shivamogga district in Karnataka.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Varamballi (Shivamogga)

The residents of Varamballi in Hosanagar taluk in Karnataka have a reason to cheer. After an eight-year-long struggle, the BSNL has sanctioned a mobile phone tower in the village. The civil work for installation of the tower began earlier in May. Every day, a few villagers eagerly visit the construction site to check the progress of the work.

Every day, a few villagers eagerly visit the construction site to check the progress of the work of installing a BSNL mobile phone network tower in Varamballi.
| Photo Credit:
Sathish GT

The villagers want the work to be completed before the onset of monsoon.

“The work should be completed before the rains. Otherwise, the work will be delayed further,” said Vinayak Prabhu, an activist in the village.

Over the years, the residents have left no stone unturned to get a tower. They wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi multiple times, submitted petitions to elected representatives, met officers, gave a call to boycott elections, and also took out a protest march to grab the attention of the decision-makers.

Series of letters

Mr. Prabhu first wrote to the Prime Minister in 2017, complaining about the poor network connectivity. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) responded, stating that the officers concerned would act on the complaint. BSNL officials contacted Mr. Prabhu, stating that they would look into the issue. However, the issue remained unresolved.

The indefatigable Mr. Prabhu, and others, continued their efforts and wrote about 17 times to the PMO.

Ravindra, an employee of KSRTC, who works in Kundapura depot, is a native of Varamballi. On holidays, he visit Varamballi to meet his family. “Many times I have been reprimanded by my seniors because my phone is not reachable whenever they tried to contact me over allotment of duties,” he said.

Srinivas, who heads the struggle committee on network issues, said the poor network had hit relatives visiting his family. “They come happily to spend a couple of days here. But, when they find that the network is poor and their internet is inaccessible, they return early,” he said.

Protests and marches

Villagers had threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Later, the candidates in the fray contacted the villagers and assured them of fulfilling their demand.

Again, in April 2025, they resumed their protest. They took out a padayatra from the village to Hosanagara, the taluk centre. Following the protest, the BSNL sanctioned a tower to the village under the Universal Service Obligation programme.

Construction of a tower incurs an expenditure of ₹1.25 crore. Krishna Mogera, Deputy General Manager (BSNL), Shivamogga, said that the tower would cover an area of two to three kilometres. “We are covering the area that is not covered by any other operator. It is our obligation to ensure service for the needy, not for profit,” he said.

Under the scheme, BSNL has installed towers at 62 locations in Shivamogga district in Karnataka, and 4G service has been operationalised. “A total of 134 towers has been granted for the district. Of them 62 are ready while the rest are at different stages of completion,” the officer added.