Government likely to restore more postpaid mobile services in Valley
SRINAGAR : Sensing improvement in situation in the Valley, government is likely to restore more postpaid mobile connections in Kashmir.
Officials privy to details said there is possibility that within a week thousands of postpaid mobile connections could be restored. “The government has agreed to restore postpaid mobiles in the Valley and it could be done in the first week of October or before that,” a senior government official told HT. “The possibility is that BSNL postpaid connections will be restored,” he added.
Earlier, postpaid mobile services were restored in Kupwara district on September 11.
Sources said since internet restoration could take more time, there is another proposal on the table to open certain places in all the districts of Kashmir, where students or youth who have to appear for examinations or procure study material could be given limited access.
Sources said internet access could also be given to people at designated spots. The government has already restored all the telephone exchanges in Valley. Mobile phones of top government functionaries and doctors are working. The incoming facility on postpaid mobiles in Kupwara have also seen restoration. In Kashmir, there are around 44,000 registered landline connections and 18,000 internet connections. After the restoration of landlines, there is huge rush to get fresh landline connections in Srinagar and other districts. With a hope that BSNL postpaid numbers could be restored, people are getting new BSNL mobilephone connections.
“There is a huge rush for postpaid mobile and landline connections in BSNL offices. We are issuing new connections. People are also restoring their defunct numbers by clearing the dues,” said a BSNL official.
Meanwhile, students stayed away from schools, markets remained shut and public transport stayed off the roads in the Valley for the 53rd day on Thursday as the shutdown over the Centre’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status continued, officials said.
Normal life has remained crippled since August 5, when the Centre abrogated Article 370.