RAMBAN, MARCH 28: Deputy Commissioner Ramban Mohammad Alyas Khan today chaired a meeting of the District Level Telecom Committee to review the overall telecom services and connectivity scenario in the district.
The meeting aimed at ensuring seamless and reliable connectivity across the district, with special focus on remote areas and the National Highway.
The meeting was attended by SSP Arun Gupta; Divisional Engineer Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Luxmi Narayan Saini; Tehsildar Headquarters Reejuta Mahajan; Dy. SP Police Telecom Mushtaq. SDMs, other concerned officers and representatives from private telecom companies joined the meeting virtually.
The Deputy Commissioner directed BSNL and representatives of private telecom service providers including Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, to expedite the process of covering all identified shadow areas in the district to ensure complete coverage. He emphasized improving connectivity along the National Highway from Nashri to Banihal, as well as at other vulnerable and strategically important locations, including potential religious and public gathering sites. He further instructed that the coverage areas of already installed towers be revisited to maximize outreach.
Emphasizing public convenience and safety, the Deputy Commissioner directed to ensure round the clock functioning of all existing telecom towers. He stressed the need for adequate power backup and fuel arrangements at tower sites to ensure uninterrupted services, particularly during adverse weather conditions and natural calamities to avoid communication lapses at the time of emergencies.
The Deputy Commissioner also reviewed the status of land acquisition cases as per indents submitted by BSNL for the installation of new telecom towers to prevent delays in project execution.
The SSP suggested several measures to further improve telecom connectivity and emphasized that all telecom towers, especially those installed at vulnerable locations, must remain operational 24×7 to support emergency response, rescue and security operations.