Slow in sanction and delay in installation of mobile towers in Maoist-affected areas of the State has left the Odisha Government worried as connectivity in these areas has become a major problem for the security forces and district administrations.
While the Odisha Government has requested for mobile towers for 1,000 locations in the Red corridors, the Union Government has sanctioned for only 158 locations in phase II.
The Ministry of Telecommunications (MoT) has been repeatedly urged by the State Government to speed up sanction and installation of mobile towers in the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) affected districts. However, the MoT is moving at a snail’s pace, which has resulted in poor connectivity in the Maoist- hit areas.
With establishment of Gurupriya bridge, road connectivity has improved a lot and now the State administration has scaled up police presence and expedited developmental activities in the cut off areas.
But people in the cut off areas are demanding mobile connectivity as it is very poor and people are moving up to trees to talk in their mobile phones. Some of them are also scaling up hill tops to use their cell phones as there is hardly any mobile towers in the vicinity.
In Phase I Connectivity Programme, 253 mobile towers were installed and those towers are having low radiating antennas with poor bandwidth. There is virtually little or no data facility available in the covered areas of the mobile towers. Consequently, setting up of the mobile towers has defeated their very purpose, admitted officials in Malkangiri
district.
Latest official statistics revealed that tele density of all India level is 90.34 per cent, while Odisha is having 75.05 per cent coverage. Over 11,000 villages are out of mobile connectivity and it continues till date as sanction and setting up of mobile towers has taken a back seat in the State.
The State Government has requested the MoT for deployment of additional resources in the tele density deficit State so that there will be improvement in mobile connectivity. The Union Government can utilize Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for Odisha as it requires more coverage in less time, sources said.