Poor cellular network irks Bandpawa Shopian residents
Shopian: The subscribers of private telecommunication companies like Jio and Airtel and govt telecommunication company BSNL are complaining about erratic calling and Internet services in Bandpawa village of Chitragam hamlet in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
The residents of Bandpawa village which according to locals consists of around 100 households have been suffering in absence of proper network connectivity.
Farooq Ahmad Bhat, a local resident said that they cannot make any calls even during emergencies and living without proper connectivity in today’s world is like living in Dark Age.
He said that most of the works in modern era are done on mobile phones but in absence of proper connectivity, they are unable to do anything on phone and have to visit offices for even minor issues and services.
“When the world is witnessing 5G internet connectivity, we don’t have basic cellular connectivity to call our friends, relatives and others,” said Nadeem Ahmad, another local resident.
“We usually move to other places to make phone calls as our phones remain out of service, when we stay indoors,” he added.
Locals said that students community suffered a lot during last two three years as they were facing problems in attending online classes in absence of network connectivity and even students had to go to nearby areas in search of mobile connectivity to attend their classes.
They said that during emergencies they are unable to contact their relatives who also get worried when they are unable to contact us.
“We have brought this issue into the notice of concerned authorities several times but despite repeated assurances the ground situation remained as it was,” they said.
They appealed concerned authorities from the government as well as private cellular companies to install towers in their areas, so that they can avail mobile phone network facility in this modern era.
They have sought personal intervention of LG Manoj Sinha and concerned deputy commissioner in providing signal towers in the area so that people can avail the services.
Jahangeer Ganaie
