Citing suffering of people due to internet shutdowns, Union IT ministry, for the second time in 2018, has asked Jammu and Kashmir Government to avoid frequent suspensions of the net in Kashmir.
“It has come to the notice of DoT that frequent suspension of internet services are being ordered by (the) state government in circumstances where public emergency or public safety are not impacted…,” states a letter sent by secretary of Union department of telecommunication (DoT) Aruna Sundrajan to the J&K Government.
This second directive, first one being issued in April, from the DoT to state government has come after Delhi-based telecom operators’ amalgamation has apprised the telecom regulator about frequent internet shutdowns causing huge economic losses in Kashmir.
The DoT has written a letter to the state government (DO No: 800-37/2016-AS.II/1) in which Sundrajan has also apprised the J&K Government about inconvenience caused to common people in Kashmir due to internet shutdowns.
In April this year, Greater Kashmir had reported that union ministry has asked state government that ‘Internet shutdowns should not be first line of action’. However, according to a tracker maintained by Delhi-based not-for-profit organisation Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), internet services has been suspended more than 63 times this year so far by authorities, causing inconvenience to people. Now, despite a second communication from DoT, sent to the state government, internet shutdowns have continued unabated.
Rajan Matthews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) told Greater Kashmir that DoT has written to the state government after COAI several times informed the regulator that frequent internet shutdowns were taking toll on both telecom companies as well as people in Kashmir.
“In our licences agreement signed with the government there is a clause that the companies have to follow the directions of the state government especially in trouble-torn areas such as the Valley. But the fact that today’s digital age is hugely dependent on internet, snapping these services are highly counterproductive,” says Matthews.