In a major boost to the lives and livelihoods of border communities, the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India recently removed restrictions on telecom connectivity. For those living along the Line of Control, this means better access to healthcare, educational resources and economic opportunity.
Mobile phones ring in remotest villages of border district of Kupwara
Mobile phones ring in remotest villages of border district of Kupwara
KUPWARA: Two decades after the launch of mobile telephony in Jammu and Kashmir, cell towers have been erected in three remote villages in Kupwara district giving cellular connectivity and hope for a better future to about 10,000 locals.
The three villages Machil, Dudi and Posh Wari are located just 100 to 160 kms from Srinagar, the summer capital of the Union Territory which got mobile connectivity in 2000.
But as these villages are in close proximity to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and often witness unprovoked shelling from across the border and infiltration, the task became tougher for the district administration that had to get a lot of clearances, especially from the army, to provide cellular services.