Residents of remote Tulail area of Gurez valley protested for the third day running on Monday against the civil administration for failing to extend mobile connectivity to the cluster.
Witnesses said residents of Budugam village in Tulail blocked the Dawar-Tulail road, demanding installation of cell phone towers in their area situated close to the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
The protests follow recent 4G mobile services started by Reliance Jio in Dawar tehsil of the remote valley which remains cut off from the outside world for winter months every year.
“We have been devoid of the mobile service for too long as the area has been ignored by the authorities. This is sheer injustice as we have been suffering immensely due to the unavailability of any mobile network,” an agitated villager said.
An official said installing mobile phone towers in the area will take some time for which the villagers have to bear with the authorities.
“We have got the permission for installation of Jio towers in Tulail and Bagtore areas as well. But it will take some time to install towers and make mobile services functional in the area,” the official said.