Over 60 villages in Ri-Bhoi slam Airtel for ‘Erratic Services’, seek CM’s help

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 15, 2025

Over five dozen villages along the northern periphery of Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya have jointly filed a formal complaint to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, highlighting the severe and persistent mobile network issues faced under Bharti Airtel’s services.

In their letter addressed to the CM, the residents expressed deep concern over the “highly erratic” and “frequently prolonged” network outages that have left large tribal populations digitally cut off for hours on end. These disruptions, they said, impact essential services, emergency communication, and daily financial transactions—posing immense hardships for poor tribal pre-paid users.

The complaint accuses Airtel of failing to fulfill its obligations under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which was set up to ensure mobile connectivity in remote and tribal-dominated areas. Despite receiving support from the Union Ministry of Communication, the telecom company “continues to collect full payments in advance” from users without any extension of validity or compensation for disrupted services.

The villagers have previously lodged complaints through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and written to Union Communication Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, but say no action has been taken to improve the situation.

Terming the continued poor service as “negligence” and “exploitation of marginalized communities,” the residents have now appealed to CM Sangma for urgent intervention. Among their key demands are holding Airtel accountable, initiating a technical audit through the Department of Telecommunications, exploring alternative service providers, and providing compensation to affected users.

“This issue directly impacts the welfare and digital inclusion of a large tribal population,” the letter states, urging the state government to ensure timely redressal.