Dhaka, Aug 22 (V7N): To ensure continuous communication in flood-hit regions, the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD) has canceled all leaves for its officials.

The PTD has taken this step in response to the ongoing floods in Feni, Cumilla, and other areas, focusing on repairing damaged communication towers, according to a press release issued today.

Additional measures include the establishment of control rooms within the PTD and its affiliated organizations and active monitoring of the flood situation.

The press release indicated that as of 8 am today, 5,476 out of 6,986 sites (towers) across 11 affected districts are operational, with a 21.6% rate of tower dysfunction. Feni and Khagrachari districts experienced the highest rates of tower issues, at 42.4% and 41.5%, respectively.

Efforts are underway to restore functionality to the non-operational towers. Ten V-SATs have been prepared with support from Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited for constant communication, with five already dispatched to Feni.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has instructed mobile operators and tower-sharing companies to ensure 24/7 operation of mobile towers. BTRC is also coordinating with power authorities to maintain power supply at telecom sites and has directed operators to ensure sufficient backup power.

Additionally, four mobile operators have provided 500 megabytes of free data to users in flood-affected areas.

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