Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 27: The beautiful Aru valley in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, known for its picturesque meadows and mountains, has been struggling with limited mobile and internet connectivity, irking the tourists.
Despite progress made in rural India’s internet connectivity under the Digital India program, the Aru Valley in Pahalgam still lacks round-the-clock mobile and internet connectivity due to inadequate infrastructure, causing inconvenience to both locals and tourists and discouraging tourists from staying longer in the area.
Local hotel operators expressed concern over the impact of poor connectivity on tourism in the area. They said that although many tourists enjoy the idea of going offline for a day or two, lengthy periods without connectivity are not practical in today’s world.
The hotel operators believe it is crucial to provide this amenity to guests. “In today’s world, mobile connectivity has become a basic need, and it is important for hotels and other establishments to provide this amenity. While tourists may enjoy the idea of going offline for a day or two, it is not practical for them to stay disconnected for extended periods,” Irshad Sheikh, a local hotelier, said.
To make matters worse, the only network available in the area is the BSNL service, which relies on electricity and gets disconnected during power outages. This has left the people of the Aru Valley feeling left behind as the rest of the world moves forward in connectivity.
“We have only been here for a day, and the only time we have been able to contact our family was through the hotel manager’s phone, which has caused some worry back home. Although we love the location and its surroundings, the lack of mobile connectivity is proving to be a significant challenge,” a group of tourists said.
The locals said frequent climate-triggered land and mudslides in the area often damage the fiber infrastructure, resulting in connectivity issues. “We have to pool money to restore it since the responsible company fails to do so, resulting in a significant expense,” a local said
The CEO of the Pahalgam Development Authority, Sajad Ahmad, said that they have reached out to another mobile carrier to install a tower in the area, which should address the network problems.
“I have held meetings with other carriers to discuss the importance of a tower in this region and am working to convince them. I am optimistic that we will find a resolution soon,” he said.
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