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| Centre likely to restore mobile services in Kashmir | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Sept 23: In a bid to restore normalcy further, the Centre is likely to restore mobile services in the Valley next week.
Sources told early times that all efforts are being made to restore mobile services in Kashmir in the coming few days.
Source further added that while mobile services would likely to start functioning from next week onwards, there is no decision taken as yet to start internet services. "We would analyze the situation further before restoring internet services. Currently, it is not advisable, the Home Ministry, sources said.
The internet has remained suspended in J&K from August 4 onwards, a day before the decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken. In August, it was decided to ease out further curbs and restore landline telephone services in most places across the Valley. Landline telephone services have been restored across the length and breadth of the Valley.
Meanwhile with no internet and mobile services in Kashmir for over 50 days now, journalists in the Valley have been hard-pressed as a make-shift media centre set up here by the government continues to be the only connection for many with the rest of the world.
Harried journalists are now demanding that the government should at least restore broadband connections of media houses."We have minimal contact with our head office. We are often outside our offices here for assignments or something else and it is difficult for the head office or even our family to reach us in the absence of mobile phone services, Mudasir Ahmad, a senior journalist, said.
Another local journalist, Bilal Ahmad , who works for a daily newspaper, said information gathering has suffered due to the communication restrictions. "We often do not know what is happening in the city and information from other districts is hard to come by. We have to rely on official versions of the events or incidents. Reaching officials or sources especially in the other districts is very difficult," he said.
"We have seen mobile and internet suspensions, but never before has it been this long for journalists. It has been over 49 days now that we have been deprived of the facilities. In an era when government agencies can monitor anything, why is it so difficult to restore internet lines of media houses?" the journalists said. |
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