Raja Syed Rather
Srinagar, Aug 06 : The Government of India on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that all telecom service providers in the Jammu & Kashmir licence service area, which includes Ladakh, are meeting the prescribed quality benchmarks for mobile services, despite concerns over network congestion in some remote pockets.
Responding to a question by MP Mohmad Haneefa on poor mobile and internet services in regions such as 144 RCC NPD Road and Neyraks village, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar acknowledged that the areas have seen a rise in population due to labour settlements, GREF camps, and heavy traffic along the Nimmu–Padam–Darcha road.
The Minister said several initiatives under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), formerly the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), are aimed at improving high-bandwidth and uninterrupted connectivity in rural, hilly, tribal, and border areas, including Ladakh.
Under the BharatNet project, all 193 Gram Panchayats in Ladakh have been made service-ready through satellite-based connectivity.
The Amended BharatNet Programme seeks to upgrade the existing Phase-I and Phase-II network and extend broadband access to about 3.8 lakh non-gram panchayat villages in the country on demand.
Also, under the 4G saturation project and other mobile infrastructure initiatives, 175 mobile towers have been commissioned in uncovered remote and rural villages of Ladakh.
The Minister said these measures are designed to address growing digital demands from tourists, students, and essential services in the region—(KNO)
