KARGIL MAY 21, 2021:  In order to take stock of the present status of telecommunication services being provided to users and telecom infrastructure development works in the district, Member Parliament (MP) Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal convened a meeting with the telecom operators at Tourist Facilitation Center Biamathang here today.

Deputy Commissioner and CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Santosh Sukhadeve, representatives of BSNL and Jio Telecom Services besides other concerned officers were present in the meeting.

During the course of the meeting, the concerned officers informed the Member Parliament Ladakh that all possible measures are being taken to provide smooth mobile and internet services to the consumers while work on the strengthening of infrastructure by way of installation of mobile towers at different locations is being carried out in full swing.

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MP Ladakh directed the telecom operators to ensure installation of solar power supply sets in place of the existing DG sets so as to cut down carbon emissions to make Ladakh carbon neutral.

As regards to the existing mobile telecom infrastructure in Kargil district, the concerned officers informed the MP that at present there are 45 functional towers of BSNL in the district, out of which 7 are under Army jurisdiction, adding that 19  towers have  already been equipped with solar power supply while the remaining will also be made solar operational soon.  

The meeting was further informed that at present Ladakh UT is connected to Srinagar with single cable line, due to heavy traffic of users interruption occurs sometimes and for the smooth and uninterrupted connectivity, VTL PGICL fiber cable has been planned to be laid out from Srinagar side.

The officers of BSNL added that around 80% of the laying out work of the optical fiber cable has already been completed, while the remaining 20% will be completed within the period of 3 to 4 months, adding that the installation of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) at Latoo and Kaksar will also be completed soon.

The representative of Jio Telecom Services informed the MP Ladakh that at present there are 37 functioning towers of the company in the district and 4 in Zanskar.

About the development works of Jio towers in Kargil, he said that 7 towers will be completed soon and all the USOF sites will be completed till 25^th July, 2021 besides to increase the speed of internet in Kargil Town and adjoining areas, sites have been identified to install more towers which will be completed soon.

The MP Ladakh said that in case any hindrance occurs in installation of towers especially in border areas, the telecom operators should specify the issue with proper reasons and bring the same into his notice. He assured that he will take up such issues personally with the concerned authorities.

MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal stressed that the installation of towers in public areas should not halt due to land issues, and the technical feasibility should be the only priority to setup a tower, adding in case any public hindrance occurs the issue must be brought to the notice of the District Magistrate, Kargil.

Underlining the need to ensure mobile connectivity in all un-connected villages of Ladakh UT, MP Ladakh said that all out support would be extended from his side to achieve this goal. He also directed the concerned officers to transfer the available Base Tran-receiver Stations (BTSs) to the villages where mobile connectivity has not reached yet.