Darjeeling, Oct. 3: Bharat Sanchar Nigam?s (BSNL) poor connectivity in the town has left subscribers annoyed.

To make matters worse, there is little hope of things improving in the next couple of months.

For the past three weeks, making calls from BSNL?s CellOne network to any other service provider has become virtually impossible here. On most occasions, ?network busy? is the ubiquitous display on every CellOne user?s cellphone.

This, however, does not hold true for private operators whose services are relatively better.

The standard explanation offered by BSNL authorities is ?congestion in line due to increase in traffic volume?. BSNL?s divisional engineer Adhir Biswas was more forthcoming. ?The problem is due to the change in call tariff. With the rates slashed, call patterns have changed,? Biswas said.

The steady inflow of tourists here with roaming facility on their cellphones adds to the problem, Biswas said.

Vikram Rai, who teaches at St Joseph?s College here, said: ?I am fed up with BSNL?s connectivity. Now I have subscribed to Reliance and Airtel connections. The BSNL should have taken into account their capacity before increasing its subscriber base.?

According to Tapan Deb, a BSNL official (Siliguri), at present the number of cellular connections in the Darjeeling district is pegged at 70,000. BSNL officials admit that the number could increase to 1 lakh soon.

Trying to achieve this aim, the BSNL has launched the Rs-100 scheme from October 1 in which government employees are given post-paid connections for Rs 100.

BSNL?s infrastructure in Darjeeling town is not adequate to cater to so many subscribers. At present, the town has four base trans receive stations (BTS), though Biswas claimed BSNL is going to set up 15-16 such stations in the area by mid-November. A BTS can handle only 120 calls, including both incoming and outgoing calls, at any given moment. ?We expect a remarkable improvement in service after more stations are set up,? Biswas said.