Army, BSNL connect Kishtwar’s remotest village
STATE TIMES NEWS
KISHTWAR: In a shining example of army BSNL cooperation, the Indian Army in Jammu region with coordinated efforts of BSNL, civil administration and Indian Air Force have made a BSNL mobile tower at Navapachi in Kishtwar District functional. Navapachi, at an altitude of 6,700 feet is an extremely remote village in Kishtwar District with a scattered population of approximately 8000. It is cut off in winters and has difficult connectivity even in summers. The army post in Navapachi in maintained by air. Owing to these conditions, the installation of the BSNL tower at the site was a herculean task which involved enormous coordination between army, BSNL, civil administration of Kishtwar district and the Indian Air Force.
The store, equipment and technicians required to install and make the Base Transmission Station (BTS) functional at Navapachi were air lifted with help of Indian Air Force helicopters over a period of four months which was itself a challenge due to limited access windows for air travel due to weather and terrain constraints. The BSNL Base Transmission Station tower at Navapachi became functional on 6th April 2016 and shall provide voice and limited data connectivity to the army personnel deployed in the area and civil population of Navapachi and surrounding villages. The effort marks the beginning of advanced technology era in the remotest regions of J and K and paves the way for more such initiatives in the region and the country. The event is a perfect display of synergy between army, BSNL, civil administration and the Indian Air Force.