TSEWAng rigzin
LEH: Following Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) break near Zojila at a place called Shiatan Nallah on 25th evening, restoration of internet services in Ladakh is likely to take months as BSNL suspects avalanche and the area where the OFC had broken is inaccessible. If it takes months to restore, Ladakhis, especially tourism industry, will suffer huge. The 2G services provided by Airtel remains almost defunct most of the time.
Ladakh remaining disconnecting often was recently raised in the State Assembly also and now it is for the government of India to connect Ladakh digitally by any means as it will be a blunder to keep strategically crucial places like Ladakh disconnected for months together.
Poor connectivity of internet and telecommunication services and curtailment of electricity for long hours have caused huge inconvenience for the people of Ladakh this winter. Frequent damages caused to the Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) on Leh- Srinagar road had repeatedly led to complete collapse of internet and telecommunication services of BSNL in Lad-akh. As a result Ladakhi students, researchers and those associated with travel industry in Ladakh have been made to suffer hugely since internet has become lifeline for them in their respective fields.
Central Government needs to find appropriate and permanent solutions to keep Ladakh digitally connected round the year. Keeping strategically important places like Ladakh disconnected for days together goes against the very spirit of Digital India initiative that the incumbent government has initiated to transform our nation and creating opportunities for all citizens by harnessing digital technologies.
Need of the hour for Government of India is to direct the Telecom Ministry to review and overhaul the pathetic situation of telecommunication system in Ladakh because without properly connecting border regions with internet facility, Government of India to mission to empower every citizen with access to digital services, knowledge and information will prove to be just futile and slogan with no action on ground.
