The insurgency infested Dantewada, Sukma and Bastar districts of Chhattisgarh have a total of 180 mobile towers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNl) which are operating in these three districts.
Besides Naxal activities, difficult geographical conditions and hilly terrain make it difficult to provide network coverage in these left-wing Extremism (lWE) areas, the Centre has informed. In addition, mobile towers are being set up at 14 sites under lWE Project funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
In Chhattisgarh, 16 out of 27 districts are Naxal affected. A total of 961 mobile towers of BSNl are working in these lWE districts. In Jharkhand, 21 out of 24 districts are naxal affected. There are 782 number of mobile towers of BSNl working in lWE areas of Jharkhand. These towers are insufficient to provide coverage in naxal affected areas, particularly because of hilly terrain and dense forest.
Notably, with a view to providing a major boost to expansion of telecommunications services in Chhattisgarh, the BSNl is going to install 2,000 new mobile towers in the State during the next two years, Union Minister for Telecommunications and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad had announced during his visit to Raipur in June last year.
Notably, via video conferencing, Prasad earlier had dedicated the 146 new mobile towers erected in insurgency-infested Bastar region and infrastructure for providing internet services developed in Panchayats at Balrampur-Ramanujgunj district through NFON.
“BSNl will set up 2,000 new mobile towers during the next two years in Chhattisgarh which will be a historical step to strengthen mobile connectivity in the State,” the Union Minister had informed in a Press conference here after chairing a meeting with the officials at Chief Minister Raman Singh’s official residence.
“The Chief Minister had urged the Centre to install 1,600 mobiles towers in the State to improve telecom connectivity. I have spoken to BSNl officials and they have agreed to install as many as 2,000 towers,” he added.
In an effort to boost ‘digital drive’, 220 new Wi-Fi hot spots will be set up in the State mainly at tourist places, Prasad said.
“The State presently has 27 Wi-fi hot spots. During the next one-and-half years, this facility will be extended to 220 more places. I have asked to cover prominent tourist places of the State including temples and waterfalls under the facility,” he said.
“I had said earlier that the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was known for bringing four-lane, six-lane national highways and Narendra Modi Government will be known for bringing information highway,” he added.