Jio, BBNL boost connectivity in Uttarakhand border areas

Jio mobile towers have come up in several border villages of Dharchula sub-division here improving mobile connectivity and reducing the dependence of locals on mobile networks of Nepal, officials said on Saturday. Dharchula SDM A K Shukla said the Bharat Broadband Network Ltd is providing VSAT communication network to provide Internet facility to the residents of Himalayan villages located at above 8,000 feet where the Jio towers are not working.
He said the mobile towers of Jio company are functioning at several places in Dharchula sub-division, reducing their dependence on Nepali networks.

According to the SDM, all 35 villages, from where locals migrate during the summer, can benefit from improved mobile and Internet connectivity in the area.

The villagers also complained of weak and fragmented signals at times.

"Villagers in the remotest Namik village have to gather at a hill top to talk to their friends and family as the newly installed Jio tower has no signal in their village, " said Puran Pandey, a resident of Johar valley.

Improved mobile and Internet connectivity in border areas is important as it can help repopulate the depleting border villages.

With better communication facilities, residents of abandoned villages near the Indo-China border may return home and stay there throughout the year, said Shalu Datal, a local.