Trudging 15 km to catch phone signal
People in 63 Sonbhadra villages cannot call police or seek medical help in an emergency; 18 villages do not have proper connecting roads
VARANASI: Gurdah is a hilly village in the lap of nature in Sonbhadra district. Surrounded by high hills covered with lush green trees, it offers a panoramic view.
But the life of people here is bleak because the village lacks mobile network. They have to travel around 15 km to Chopan block and villages near it to catch the signal.
Needless to state, there are no landlines as well.
Gurdah is one among 63 villages lacking mobile network. Of these, some villages are situated in rough terrain of five developmental blocks—Chopan, Nagwan, Myorpur and Babhani— in this eastern UP district sharing boundaries with four states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
Among the 63 ‘no network’ villages, around 18 do not even have proper connecting roads. Locals either walk or depend on two-wheelers or tractors to reach the areas having network.
There are 30 ‘no mobile network or no signal’ villages, including Gurdah, Parsoi, Panari, Budgar, Kanhara, Bagesoti, Bharhari, Bairpur, Teritain, Mairdand, Kaspani, Fafrakund, Panchpendia and Jugail in Chopan developmental block, 28 ‘no network villages’ in Panaura, Dhosara, Chanani, Aamdih Chakaria in Nagwan developmental block, four such villages including Ranhor, Kuldomari, Pati in Myorpur area and Randah village in Babhani developmental block.
Shyam Bihari Singh, a resident of Gurdah village, says, “There is no mobile network here. We have to travel around 15 kilometres to get into network zone. In case of any trouble, we cannot inform police on mobile. If anyone takes ill in the village, we cannot call a doctor in the nearby health care centre Panchpedia, which is around 10 km from the village.”
In the era of information technology revolution and digital India, Singh says no road and mobile network make locals feel that they still live in the dark ages.
Another local Tamgan Singh says, “Due to no network, we have to suffer a lot. People whose relatives live in other cities can’t communicate with them easily. Many people visit Chopan and its outskirts, the nearby network zone, to call their relatives.”
“Due to no network, it is tough to call the ambulance or inform police about any incident,” says Chhote Kumar, another villager.
People in all the villages without mobile network face almost similar problems. But in the18 no mobile network villages, including Basin, Bhaktinia, Auradandi, Ghichorva and Nawatola situated in extremely rough terrain in hilly area, which lacks connecting roads, the situation is the worst. People in these villages climb hills to access network or walk to the nearby town.
A POLICE STATION WITHOUT MOBILE NETWORK
The cops in Jugail police station in Chopan area also face a lot of inconvenience owing to no network. In case of any crime in a village like Gurdah, police get to know about it only when the locals visit the police station and inform them.
Sub inspector Hari Shankar Singh says, “There is no mobile network in many villages in hilly areas around Jugail. The police station also lacks network. We face a lot of problems due to this .”Singh says in case he needs additional force to tackle a situation, he cannot call the police station due to absence of signal. He can only inform his seniors when he returns to the police station.
Station officer, Jugail SR Buddhisaini endorses this. “Wireless is the only means of communication through which we can convey our message to the senior authorities in the district in case of requirement of additional force,” he says, adding that the beat constables who go on patrolling at night cannot contact the police station if they require support.
Several people from the adjoining areas who were present at the police station, echoed similar sentiments.
District magistrate S Rajalingam says, “A number of steps have been taken to address this issue. I have spoken to BSNL officials and also officials of other telecom service provider companies to provide mobile network in these villages. We are working very seriously on the matter. In the near future, these villages will have mobile network.”
Rajalingam also held a meeting with the forest department officials and instructed them to take steps to seek clearance from the union ministry of forests and environment required before installation of a tower in the forest areas. He expressed hope that the clearance would be given soon.
› Wireless is the only means of communication through which we can convey our message to the senior authorities in the district in case of requirement of additional force. The beat constables who go on patrolling at night cannot contact the police station if they require support. HARI SHANKAR SINGH, sub inspector