Authorities in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district have been denying mobile internet access to locals for the last six days.
The mobile internet service was suspended in the twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian after the killing of three youth in the Lawaypora Srinagar encounter. Two slain youth were residents of Pulwama while one was the local of Shopian district.
These three youth were killed on 30 December and on the same day mobile internet service was suspended in Pulwama and Shopian district. Though authorities have restored mobile internet service in Shopian but in Pulwama people still wait for the restoration of this service.
“Our district has been witnessing maximum internet shutdowns. People particularly students are suffering immensely. High-speed internet service is already suspended in Kashmir except for the Ganderbal district. We appeal district administration to restore the service in the interest of students,” said Owais Ahmed told a local news agency, Kashmir News Trust (KNT).
Pertinently, despite claiming to have restored the internet, the Jammu Kashmir Administration continues to deny internet access to people by disallowing high-speed internet over mobile phones, forcing many to subscribe to fixed-line services from private companies.
When contacted District Development Commissioner Pulwama, Raghav Lankar said that he has no idea about internet restoration in Pulwama. “Only police can tell when service will be restored in the district,” he said.
Efforts to contact top police official didn’t materialize. (KNT)