Jammu and Kashmir: 4G service started in two districts, people made video calls after one year
After a year-long ban, 4G internet services were started in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir as a trial. Both districts, Udhampur in Jammu and Ganderbal in Kashmir, do not have international borders. Earlier in January this year, 2G services were started here.
From late Sunday night, this 4G network has been started in Udhampur district of Jammu and Ganderbal districts of Kashmir. That too, after the order of the Supreme Court.
Senior officials of Union Territory of Jammu say that there will be a review of what kind of challenges arises after the commissioning of 4G. At present, this experiment will only run till September 9, but government officials and security agencies will review it before the deadline ends and decide whether to continue 4G and whether to start it in other districts or 2G But come back.
But a senior police officer posted in Jammu says that objectionable posts were posted on social media as soon as 4-4 started, on which a case was also registered on Sunday. Officials say that 4G is a big challenge for everyone, whether local administration or security agencies. Internet services were banned from the security point of view, especially with regard to 4G.
He was quite happy when BBC spoke to Udhampur businessman Purushottam Singh on Monday morning. He said that as soon as the 4G services started, he first video chat with his relatives for which he had been craving for a year.
They said that due to lack of internet, businessmen have also faced a lot of trouble because most of the work was done online when the ban was imposed.
From submitting taxes to filling forms and admission in educational institutions, people were completely dependent on the Internet. Businessmen, from small to big, all depended on it.
Talk on video chat for the first time in Coronaco
When I talked to some people in both the districts on the phone, it came to know that many of them worked to ‘update’ their phones as soon as 4G came. At the same time, some people spoke to their acquaintances or relatives through video chat for the first time in the Corona era.
Social activist Tarun Uppal says that if the 4G service was to be started as a trial, then the headquarters should have been also in Jammu. He says that insurgent incidents in Jammu remained negligible and Jammu is very safe compared to other areas. Similarly, Kashmir does not have any international border with Ganderbal and this district has also been different from extremist activities.
He says, “But the government staff feels that once the 4G services are started, social media will not be able to control and then the separatist and other powers will start posting sensitively using this as before. Any policy of social media control Because it is not there, it will be very difficult for the security agencies to control it.
“Earlier infiltration was from Pakistan but now …”
Ruby Pandoh, a young woman from Udhampur, told the BBC that she is with every decision of the government as security is very important. He said that until the ban was there, things remained under control. Although, people definitely got into trouble, but it was important in the national interest.
But Uppal says that nothing was achieved other than trouble with the ban. He said that the infiltration that took place before August 5 last year was from Pakistan. But he says, “Of the terrorists killed in the recent few months, 90 percent were local while only 10 percent were from Pakistan.”
He argues that if the government is saying that by banning 4G, the government thinks that it has thwarted the disruptive powers, then it is wrong because they must have been doing their work on 2G as well. “It is not right to base it only on this.”
There is also going to be a process of delimitation of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Experts feel that only after this process is over, can the government think about starting 4G in the Union Territories. However, the government has not commented on it.
In the order issued to start 4G facility in two districts, Home Department Principal Secretary Shaleen Kabra said, “High speed internet services are being restored only in Ganderbal (Kashmir) and Udhampur (Jammu). In the remaining districts, the speed of internet will be limited to 2G. These services will also be applicable to post paid mobile services whereas in prepaid services they will not be available till they are checked and verified like for post paid connections.”
“We are not asking for moon stars”
Kashmir’s leader Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami told the BBC that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not asking the government for the moon stars.
They say, “We are just asking what the government had promised in Parliament. It was promised that Jammu and Kashmir will be connected to the main stream of the country. We want to remind the government of this. Leave the mainstream, the government separated this entire area from the rest of the country instead of joining it. “
Tarigami says that the government should provide the same facilities to the areas of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh which are being given to those states of Northeast India which are bordering the international border.
They say that due to the internet, the happiness of Independence Day also faded in the valley.
He said that although the internet was banned from August last month, the lockout caused by the corona virus made life more difficult. In such a situation, internet was necessary to study online and contact doctors.
A number of petitions were filed in the Supreme Court regarding high speed internet services in Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court had also sought a reply from the Central Government on this. On behalf of the government, the Attorney General of India KK Venugopal had told the Supreme Court that the government would start 4G Internet services in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir as an experiment. Then she will also review it.
