Residents of Kupwara village near LoC rue poor cellular network

Kupwara, Dec 10: The residents of Jumagund, a remote village close to Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district Sunday said that poor cellular signal was giving them a tough time for the last two years and the concerned authorities were watching as mute spectators.

The residents said that though the Jio mobile tower was made operational following its installation two years back but the signal has been confined to 100 meters only due to which people suffer a lot.

“Two years back when the mobile tower was made operational, we could hear our mobiles ringing. We were so happy regarding this development but as soon as we reached home, our happiness turned into gloom as we were unable to make calls due to non-availability of network on our mobiles,” Sarpanch Mohammad Sadeeq told Greater Kashmir.

“What is the fun of installing a tower when it does not work? Whenever we call anyone, the call instantly drops. Until the signal is not upgraded to the whole area, it is of no use” he added.

The residents also complained about the non-availability of mobile internet service which has especially shattered the student community of Jumgund. “After the mobile connectivity was restored here, we were much optimistic about the mobile internet service but to our surprise, we have not been given the privilege of using the internet forcing students of the area to stay in rented rooms in Kupwara to avail the facility of internet. After the partial mobile connectivity was restored in Jumgund, students were optimistic about the launch of the internet also so that they could stay back and take online classes in Jumgund but don’t know when their woes will end,” they said further.

The residents complained that they have brought this issue into the notice of administration numerous times but to no avail. They have sought immediate intervention of Deputy Commissioner Kupwara in this regard so that their hardships may end.