Kupwara, June 28: The residents of Keran in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district are demanding mobile connectivity saying that the residents of the area were facing a lot of hardships in its absence.
They said that Keran did not hav mobile connectivity even after its launch across Jammu and Kashmir in 2003.
Keran, 60 km from Kupwara district headquarters, consists of four panchayats including Patroo, Mandyan, Mandyan A (Naga) and Keran with a population of over 12,000 who continue to live in isolation without mobile connectivity.
The residents said that Keran sector which remains snow-bound in the winters craves for mobile connectivity since its launch in Kashmir.
“Due to lack of mobile connectivity we feel isolated from rest of the world. During winters we face most of the brunt because our area remains cutoff from district headquarters for days together,” Vice Block Development Council Chairman KeranTasleem Ahmad told Greater Kashmir.
The residents said that when rest of the country was craving for 5G, they had been deprived of the basic right of mobile connectivity.
Students of Keran sector said that lack of mobile connectivity and internet facility had been telling upon their studies.
They said that they were unable to take online classes due to lack of mobile connectivity and internet facility.
“Due to lack of mobile connectivity in Keran we are forced to stay in rented rooms in Kupwara to avail the facility of online classes. Had there been mobile connectivity in Keran, I along with other students would have been staying back at our respective homes. However, since Keran lacks mobile connectivity, we are forced to stay in rented rooms in Kupwara,” Ferad Khan a BA 2nd semester student told Greater Kashmir.
The residents said that Jiotelecommunication company had installed a mobile tower in Keran but several months had passed and it had not being made operational.
The residents said that they were unable to figure out why the authorities were not making the tower operational.
The residents have sought immediate intervention of Lieutenant Governor ManojSinha and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kupwara Imam Din in this regard.
DC Kupwara Imam Din told Greater Kashmir that he had personally taken up the issue with the officials of the concerned telecommunication company and within next week hopefully people in Keran could make calls on their mobile.