PANAJI
KTC bus services were disrupted due to floods and rains in the State, while telecommunication services and emergency phone services were also affected as BSNL services were out of order on Friday.
Remote areas of the state were completely cut off due to heavy rains and floods, forcing the KTC -- the main bus service provider in rural areas -- to suspend operations to many parts of rural areas.
According to reports, a parked KTC bus went underwater at Vante-Sattari.
“The drivers tried to remove the bus but did not succeed and had to leave the bus at the site,” said KTC MD Sanjay Ghate.
Ghate said KTC bus services in Pernem and Sattari had to be suspended due to flooding in these areas.
“There is a landslide in the Chorla Ghat area and so, interstate transport through this route has been already suspended,” said Ghate.
Meanwhile, services of the major telecom service provider BSNL was also disrupted in the State, disconnecting telecommunication, internet and emergency phone services.
The 108 EMRI ambulance emergency services were affected and GVK-EMRI informed people that due to heavy rains, the BSNL lines were down and the phone number 108 was out of order. The GVK-EMRI appealed to people to use the phone number 0832-6656969 in case of any emergency.
Contact numbers of the fire and emergency services were also disrupted.
"All emergency numbers were not working as the Goa-Sindhudurg BSNL line was affected. People contacted fire services through personal mobiles of fire officers and we started rescue operations,” said Ajit Kamat, deputy director of Fire and Emergency Services.
Online classes were also affected as the BSNL network was down.
A student, Ankita Raikar, said she could not attend online classes due to a lack of BSNL connectivity in her area.
