Srinagar: The traders in city centre areas have decried poor internet service by several cellular operators saying it has affected their business.
The traders said that they are facing immense problem in carrying out business as the online payment platform have been rendered defunct and are not smoothly working.
“We have been reaching out to telecom operators but they are not resolving the issue while our business is suffering. As we are all aware that online transactions are an essential service, our business has been badly hit as the internet is not working properly,” said a trader at Lal chowk.
The traders said that it has also affected the footfall of customers in the area and made their business suffer.
Farhan Kitab, President of Kashmir Retailers Association said that, the problem has crippled online transactions and affected the business. He said the issue is mostly prevalent along Residence Road. He said all the adjoining markets like Abi Guzar, Lambert Lane, Regal Lane, also get poor internet service.
“Nowadays trade is mostly dependent on online transactions. Be it customers or traders, they all use payment apps to make payments. None of the apps like Gpay, Mpay, Paytm and others are working properly in our shops. We reached out to officials from Telecom companies as well but they are not doing much on the ground and making us suffer. The problem is not only with one Telecom Company but most service providers have the issue,’ Kitab said.
The shoppers also said that they are facing issues while shopping. They said in case of unavailability of cash they have to visit ATMs or come back empty-handed.
“Most people rely on online transitions and don’t carry cash with them. A few days back I faced an issue while making an online payment. Despite having the service there we are unable to use it due to low internet signal. We hope the issue will be resolved without any delay as this is the commercial hub where such issues create huge problems,” said Javaid Ahmed, a shopper.
When contacted, a senior official from one of the service providers said that they will send a technical team to the spot and resolve the issue.
“As we have learnt about the issue, we will send a team to check the problem in the concerned area. We will also get in touch will the trades there so that the problem will be resolved without any delay,” said the official.