Bathnoor Tral residents protest over week-long internet disruptions
Daily life has come to a standstill, say locals
Pulwama: The residents of Bathnoor, a small hamlet in the Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, are facing severe hardship due to prolonged internet and mobile network disruptions that have persisted for more than a week, badly affecting daily life, education, healthcare access, and livelihoods, locals said Saturday.
Villagers allege that mobile connectivity across the area has deteriorated sharply, with users of major telecom service providers, including Jio and Airtel, reporting extremely weak signals, erratic call connectivity, slow mobile data speeds, and frequent network outages.
Locals say the disruption has virtually cut them off from the outside world, leaving families unable to stay in touch with relatives, access emergency services, or complete essential online tasks.
Farooq Ahmad, a local farmer from Bathnoor, said the situation has become unbearable.
“Since last week, many of us have been unable to make even basic phone calls, let alone use the internet properly. Sometimes it takes several minutes for a simple text message to go through, and video calls are completely impossible,” he said.
“In emergencies, we cannot contact doctors or relatives. This is creating panic among elderly people and families with patients,” he added.
The impact is particularly severe on small shopkeepers and daily wage earners who increasingly rely on digital payment systems. Shabir Lone, who runs a small grocery shop in the village, said poor connectivity has hit his business hard.
“Most customers now prefer digital payments, but due to the poor network, transactions either get delayed or fail completely. Customers get frustrated and some leave without shopping,” Lone said.
“Our business has suffered badly over the past week,” he added.
Students and young people are also bearing the brunt of the disruption. Many youths said they are unable to attend online classes, download study material, or submit school and college assignments on time.
Ayesha Bano, a school teacher from the area, said the problem goes beyond slow internet speeds.
“It’s not just the internet. There are times when even basic voice calls fail to connect. As a teacher, I struggle to coordinate with students and colleagues,” she said.
“We have lodged complaints with the telecom companies and also approached local representatives, but no concrete solution has been provided so far,” she added.
Residents further pointed out that critical services such as online banking, government e-services, registrations, welfare-related portals, and emergency messaging systems have been badly affected due to the ongoing disruption.
“Everything today depends on the internet — from applying for certificates to checking government schemes. When connectivity collapses, life in villages like ours comes to a halt,” said another resident.
The villagers have urged the telecom service providers and district administration to take immediate notice of the issue and restore stable network services at the earliest.
They warned that if the problem continues, they may be forced to stage protests to draw the attention of higher authorities.
