Imran Bonyaari
For residents of two villages in Boniyar tehsil of Baramulla district, getting connected through a mobile network is a major issue as Online classes, and work from home is still dream for them.
The worst-hit village whose residents with having Jio subscription have repeatedly been demanding a resolution to the connectivity issue. The affected villages are Bernate and Battangi, where it is difficult to connect even in an era of 4G networks.
According to Wali Mohd Mir of Bernate, a sarpanch of his village, this is the main problem faced by our village in the far-flung Boniyar tehsil. When we are talking about online classes and work from home, our people are not able to call each other. The Network pole was installed here by Jio in 2019, but it has not been operationalized yet.
“To stay connected is vital as most of our relatives and friends are spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and to remain disconnected is the most disservice the largest private cellular company is doing to far-flung residents,’ Mr. Wali Mir told The Kashmiriyat. According to the sarpanch, the discrimination is apparent and visible as four km down at Boniyar, where is the Tehsil headquarters, the connectivity is extensive and uninterrupted.
Mr. Bilal Ahmad Sheikh, who is a private school teacher, told The Kashmiriyat that “On the guidelines of the top administration of our school we have been directed to start online classes, Meanwhile I could hardly call a person due to the lack of network connectivity then how could I teach students through online mediums. Despite having a lot of phone calls to Jio customer care and local administration we couldn’t get the 4g network.”
Another local from the nearby village, Battangi, Mr. Abdul Aziz Ganie, while talking to The Kashmiriyat, said, “We approached district administration and ministers but nothing is moving in this direction here in our village. I am a father of three school going children, since the COVID-19 lockdown the school is organising online classes but it is very difficult for my children to understand things due to interrupted network.”
Echoing the same views, Khadym Mir said: “If Jio is not going to resolve our long pending demand we would be forced to stage protest and approach legal luminaries to redress this crucial connectivity issue.”
However, despite repeated attempts to approach them, Jio officials failed to give any official statement and explanation in this regard.