Claiming that about 80 per cent of the populace in the Indo-Tibet border region of Dharchula Vidhan Sabha constituency are forced to use SIM cards from Nepal-based telecom companies and pay international roaming charges on their calls due to lack of mobile phone towers in the region, Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation chairman and former Dharchula MlA Harish Dhami has started a protest fast unto death at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. He has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, stating that he will continue his protest until orders are passed to ensure mobile phone network connectivity in the Dharchula constituency.
In his letter to the prime minister, a copy of which is also with The Pioneer, Dhami states that the people of Dharchula Assembly constituency have been organising protest demonstrations against the lack of mobile phone towers in the area which not only causes considerable inconvenience to the public but also exerts a detrimental effect on the state’s internal law and order situation. Dhami writes, “Due to lack of proper telecommunications facility in Dharchula, the local residents have been using SIM cards of Nepal based telecommunication companies for their mobile phones. They are also having to pay international roaming charges. People of Munsiyari Tehsil, Bangpani and Tejam area have to traverse many kilometres in order to access mobile phone networking. They people have on many occasions raised the demand for installation of mobile phone tower but till date no mobile phone towers have been installed in the areas. The mobile phone towers which are erected are found shut off every now and then. Due to telecommunication facility not being proper, other important works related to bank, ATM and gas booking are also being affected. About 80 per cent of the rural area in Dharchula, Munsiyari, Bangpani and Tejam are without telecommunication services. I have raised this issue at various levels. Chief minister Harish Rawat and state IT secretary Deepak Kumar too have in the past had official communications at the level of the union home minister, telecommunication minister and Chief General Manager of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited repeatedly, despite which the necessary action has not been taken so far.”
The former MlA stated that on the one hand the Prime Minister is talking of going cashless, e-wallet and Digital India. He further states,“Till the entire Dharchula region is not connected to the network, it would be unfair to the peope living in this border region, to talk of cashless, e-wallet and Digital India. Due to the networking problem, the people of Dharchula are suffering the most due to the demonetisation. Considering the security of the nation and in view of the problems being faced by the people of the entire Dharchula Vidhan Sabha constituency, I demand that the prime minister issue the necessary order to ensuring network connectivity in the entire Dharchula area and until instructions to this effect are not issued, I will continue my protest fast unto death at Jantar Mantar in Delhi,” he stressed.