B'lore quake: Frenzied calls amounted to 45 lakh in an hour

Bangalore, Apr 12: It was mayhem and total commotion after word spread that there was an impending tsunami after a massive earthquake struck Indonesia, the tremors of the same felt in most parts of India. The IT city of Bangalore was no different, where people were seen rushing out of their offices and making frantic calls to their near and dear ones. It has been reported that Bangaloreans made a whopping 45 lakh calls on Wednesday to their kith and kin both inside and outside the country.

With at least nine mobile companies operating in Karnataka, normal mobile traffic sees each mobile company registering 50 lakh calls every hour, that when put together amounts to 4.5 crore by all mobile companies. The number saw a steep hike when the news of the earthquake and tsunami broke sending jitters across the population.

On Wednesday afternoon alone, each mobile firm recorded an additional five lakh calls, which amounted to 45 lakh. A BSNL official has been quoted as saying, “We have observed an increase in the call ratio between 2 pm and 3 pm. Some private mobile firms may have registered more number of calls.”

Many buildings were evacuated to avoid any casualties in the event of buildings cracking. Fire and emergency services director BG Chengappa stated that he alerted the staff and asked rescue centre staff to be vigil. He added, “As part of the standard operating procedure, we are advising the callers on the dos and don’ts during such situations. However after media’s extensive coverage, the number of calls came down.”

OneIndia News