Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 7: The disruption in the telecommunication facilities of almost all the service providers is hampering ongoing relief and rescue operation in many parts of Kashmir valley. Keeping in view the prevailing situation, the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has come forward to provide backbone support to the telecom operators by allowing use of its fibre-optic telecommunication cable network.
Reports said that telecommunication facilities of almost all the service providers including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have suffered extensive damage due to floods in the Kashmir valley and cellular services except of Aircel stopped working from this afternoon.
In the absence of proper communication facilities, the administration has started facing difficulties in ensuring coordination during the relief and rescue operations, which otherwise is very important to reach out the people in the inundated areas and rush them to the safer locations.
Notwithstanding the claims of the BSNL, the major telecommunication service provider in Jammu and Kashmir, people not only of the Kashmir valley but also of Jammu have been facing numerous difficulties in establishing their contacts with their near and dear ones trapped in the flooded areas due to damage to the telecommunication infrastructure.
EXCELSIOR has also been receiving numerous calls from the people in Jammu as well as in different parts of the country seeking latest information about the ongoing relief and rescue operations in Kashmir valley as they have been finding it difficult to establish telecommunication contact with their relatives in the Valley.
According to the reports, even Ministers have also been finding it difficult to maintain contact with the officers of their respective departments in Kashmir valley and relief and rescue teams because of disruption in the telecommunication network.
In the given situation, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited’s fibre-optic telecommunication cable network is the only hope for the cellular service providers to make their network functional. Even Aircel is functional only because of backbone support from the infrastructure of PGCIL.
These operators have the option of making use of Mobile Switching Centre of Aircel as fibre-optic telecommunication network of PGCIL is the reliable and dependable option available to them to make their network functional and contribute in the relief and rehabilitation measures by restoring communication link.
“Keeping in view the prevailing situation, PGCIL today hinted that it is ready to provide backbone support to any of the cellular service provider interested in making use of Aircel’s Mobile Switching Centre”, sources said, adding on the receipt of information in this regard four cellular service providers-Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance and Idea approached Aircel for making use of its Mobile Switching Centre.
“In order to facilitate these four private service providers PGCIL has even made available enhanced bandwidth to the Mobile Switching Centre of Aircel”, they said. The service providers would be able to restore their network only after Aircel completes configuration, which was going on when reports last came in. Even business terms and conditions were being finalized between Aircel and four other private service providers.
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited runs tele telecommunications infrastructure business through overhead fibre-optic telecommunication cable network using ground wire (OPGW) on its power transmission lines. In Jammu and Kashmir, Kishenpur-Wagoora transmission line of PGCIL carries optical fibre and from Wagoora it reaches various customers in the Valley.
This transmission line crisscrossing the snow-capped mountains provides an excellent infrastructure for stringing optical fibre cable, which is being used to set up a high-grade long distance telecommunication network of high capacity.
Since the optical fibre network on the PGCIL transmission line is sturdy and secure, rodent menace free and vandalism proof, it is dependable source of communication. It is pertinent to mention here that PGCIL has diversified into telecom utilizing right of way on its extra high voltage power transmission network infrastructure.
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