Govt to set up 400 addl internet kiosks in Kashmir
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 14: The Union Territory Government tonight ordered restoration of 2G services on post paid mobile telephones in five districts of Jammu region including Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi for a period of seven days, beginning January 15, and ordered setting up of 400 additional internet kiosks in the Kashmir valley.
Principal Secretary, Home Department, Shaleen Kabra issued a detailed order to this effect.
Mobile internet services will remain suspended in Kashmir and five remaining districts of Jammu region including Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Rajouri and Poonch.
The Home Department order said 2G mobile connectivity will be restored from January 15 on post paid mobile telephones accessing white-listed sites including for e-banking, in five districts of Jammu region including Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi.
However, in the other districts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (including all 10 districts of Kashmir and five remaining districts of Jammu region), mobile internet connectivity will remain suspended.
The mobile internet services in five districts have been restored for a period of seven days from January 15 to 22, unless modified earlier. Further extension in the mobile services will depend upon review of the situation.
Broadband services were already functional in Jammu region.
While keeping mobile internet services suspended in Kashmir, the Government ordered setting up of 400 additional internet kiosks in the Valley. This will be in addition to 844 e-terminals already established in Kashmir besides 69 special counters for tourists and separate terminals for filing of GST returns and application forms for various examinations.
Also among others, a number of Government departments including those related to essential services and Government hospitals have also been provide access to internet in Kashmir, the Government order pointed out.
“Internet Service Providers (ISP-BSNL/private service providers) will provide broadband facility (with Mac-binding) to all the institutions dealing with essential services, hospitals, banks as also Government officers and, in order to facilitate tourism, to hotels and tour and travel establishments in Kashmir,” the order said.
It added that prior to giving such facility, the ISPs will install necessary firewalls and carry out `white-listing’ of sites that would enable access to Government website and the websites dealing with essential services, e-banking etc excluding, however, all the social media sites. To amplify, there shall be complete restriction on social media applications allowing peer to peer communication and virtual private network applications for the time being.
It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court had last week directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review all orders suspending internet services forthwith and while taking decisions regarding restrictions, adhere to the principle of proportionally.
The Government had suspended mobile internet services in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of August 5 decisions on scrapping of special Constitutional provisions of J&K and bifurcating the erstwhile State into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh. Broadband services remained functional in Jammu region.
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