J&K Govt to set up 50 PCOs in Valley for people to make free calls

The Jammu and Kashmir Government will soon be setting up 50 Public Call Office (PCOs) in each district of the Kashmir division for the people in the Valley to make calls free of cost. The Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan on Tuesday revealed that the localities and modalities to set up the PCOs have already been finalized. He further stated that the list and other details have been provided to the Bharat Sanchar Nigham Limited authorities, and the work will be starting soon. The communication services in the Valley was cut off after the abrogation of Article 370 to prevent any violent unrest. The BJP-led Central government abrogated Article 370 on August 5, revoking the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. 

Post-paid services restored

The government is slowly bringing Jammu and Kashmir to normalcy. According to reports, around 40 lakh postpaid mobile connections have been restored in Jammu and Kashmir, from 12 PM on October 14. However, mobile internet services and pre-paid mobile telephony services remain suspended in the Valley. Several other measures are being taken to bring the state of Jammu and Kashmir to normalcy. 

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Administration ends house arrest of leaders in Jammu 

Ahead of Block Development Council elections, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ended the house arrest of all the political leaders in Jammu on October 2. According to reports, all the leaders of Congress, PDP, National Conference, and Panthers Party, who have been asked not to hold any political activity after Abrogation of Article 370, have been conveyed that their house detention has ended and they are free to carry out any political activity. The Block Development Councils (BDC) will take place in the 310 blocks of Jammu and Kashmir on October 24. According to reports, the polling will be held from 9 AM to 1 PM and the counting of votes will begin at 3.00 PM on the same day.

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(With PTI inputs)