No high speed internet for Jammu and Kashmir till April 3: Home Department

In a major disappointment to the masses in Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Department of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday ordered continuation of 2G internet services till April 3rd, 2020.

“The Internet speed shall be restricted to 2G only till April 3 unless modified earlier,” read the order, issued by Principal Secretary to the Government, Shaleen Kabra. This comes as a disappointment for all those who have been waiting for the last seven months for high speed internet on their phones. The decision was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by Lt Governor GC Murmu gave a nod for the restoration of the services in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari had also urged the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister to restore high speed mobile Internet, one of the prerequisites, in taking up preventive measures against the spread of Coronavirus-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. Yesterday evening, after a recent report that 4G services will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clarified that no such orders were issued.

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"Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has issued any such orders. The news report is not true," said Official statement from Ministry of Home Affairs.

Earlier in the very first restoration order on 15th January, internet services were restored in the five districts of the Jammu region i,e. Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Reasi, and Udhampur with limited access to postpaid subscribers. The move ended 163 days long mobile internet gag in these areas. The government, then, had decided to set up 400 internet Kiosks in Kashmir valley. Hospitals, banks, and Govt. Internet service providers will offer broadband facilities (with Mac binding) to all institutions dealing with essential services, hospitals, banks and also government offices. The new order issued also reads the same.

Internet services were suspended across J&K on August 5, when the Union Government took the decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcation of the J&K state into two Union Territories J&K and Ladakh. In Jammu, broadband services were functional, while in Ladakh, both mobile and broadband services were rest.

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