4G back in Ganderbal, Udhampur Student community feels relieved
Ganderbal/ Udhampur: The Student Community here in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district ishappy with the restoration of high speed internet facility.
Government on Sunday evening ordered restoration of 4G mobile internet services in two districts of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, Ganderbal and Udhampur, on trial basis after more than a year.
According to an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s Home Department, 4G internet services have been experimentally restored in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts at 9 pm on Sunday, while 2G internet services will continue in the remaining districts till further orders.
Many students told ‘Kashmir Vision’ that they were unable to learn from online classes due to low speed internet.
“This is a welcome move as during this pandemic we were unable to learn properly from online Classes,” a group of students said.
They said that restoration of 4G internet facility will help them in studying and downloading material for study.
Notably, the trader fraternity was equally happy with the restoration of high speed internet.
They said that high speed internet facility is our fundamental right and we welcome this decision by administration.
It may be recalled that the Central Government had repealed Section 370 on August 5 last year and abolished the semi-autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Centrally Administered Territories.
Following the move, internet services in Jammu and Kashmir were also suspended due to fears of protests.
The central government had last week told the apex court that 4G internet would be restored in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir on a trial basis after August 15 and if the situation improved, 4G internet would be restored in the remaining districts in a phased manner.
Attorney General KK Venu Gopal had claimed in the Supreme Court that the ban on internet in Jammu and Kashmir had not affected the treatment of corona virus patients nor had it affected educational and commercial activities.
He had also said that in view of the current security situation in Kashmir, the environment was not conducive for the restoration of 4G internet on mobile phones.
Earlier, the apex court had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to look into the possibility of reviving 4G internet in certain areas.
Meanwhile, various sections of the society have welcomed the move in Udhampur as well.
“It is a welcome decision as you cannot keep pace with the outside world using low-speed internet, especially at a time when the pandemic has brought normal life to a grinding halt and led to a manifold increased in people’s dependence on cyberspace,” Arjun Khajuria, a resident of Udhampur town, told PTI.
Khajuria, a software engineer who had returned home from Delhi opting the work-from-home option, said working on 2G mobile internet was a big headache and that he was unable to complete the tasks assigned by his company.
“As the clock struck 9 pm, everyone who had got the information started surfing the net and it was a pleasant surprise to have 4G mobile internet connectivity. I am relieved now,” he said.
Rahul Sharma, who is also working in a private company in Delhi, said he used to start the day looking for broadband connection or internet cafe.
“Despite working from 9 am to 5 pm, there was no work satisfaction. The frequent disturbance by visitors and threat to get infected was always there,” he said. (with PTI inputs)
KV Correspondent
