Hoshiarpur (Daljit Ajnoha):- Mobile network connectivity has become an essential part of human life. While much is being said about Digital India, telecom companies are failing to provide proper network services despite collecting payments from consumers. Due to the lack of attention from telecom companies and the government, residents of Dehra village and surrounding villages in the Kandi region are facing serious network problems. This is affecting children's education and preventing people from accessing even the limited government facilities available to them. Expressing strong condemnation, Jai Gopal Dhiman, president of the Consumer Democratic Movement, and Gurdial Singh staged a protest in the village against the Central Government. They said that several villages in the Kandi region are still struggling with poor network services.
They alleged that almost all telecom companies are collecting recharge payments but failing to provide the promised services. They said it is the responsibility of these companies to send technical experts to villages, improve network services proactively and use better technology to ensure reliable connectivity. Dhiman said that many young people from these villages live abroad, and when they call their families, their relatives often have to climb onto the rooftops to get a mobile signal.
He said children’s education is suffering the most because of the failure of network companies to provide proper services in the Kandi region. Students from schools and colleges sometimes have to travel to cities even for work that would take just two minutes because they do not have access to network facilities in their villages. There is considerable interest among children in using digital and internet-based services. Many youngsters want to work online from home, but due to the lack of connectivity, they are compelled to move to cities and pay high rents to continue their work or studies. Several girls from villages are also working in cities, although they could do the same work from their homes if proper network services were available.
Dhiman further said that poor network services are keeping villagers far away from government healthcare facilities. People have to travel to cities and spend money to access medical services, particularly women who need to seek care during childbirth. Even contacting doctors by telephone for medical advice is not possible because of poor connectivity. He said that today's world is increasingly dependent on network connectivity, and inadequate services are disturbing the overall balance between rural and urban areas.
Dhiman said that people want to continue living in villages, but the self-serving and contradictory policies of governments are disrupting the population balance. The Central Government makes tall claims about online services, while the network infrastructure in villages remains in a deplorable condition. People pay telecom companies for recharges in advance and also pay taxes to the government in advance. He alleged that the government is committing fraud against the people and that this amounts to constitutional discrimination as well.
He pointed out that the area is largely forested and hilly, where an emergency could arise at any time. Due to negligible network connectivity, residents remain under mental stress, while children are deprived of opportunities to pursue constructive activities. He warned that if the government fails to hold telecom companies accountable and improve their services, effigies of the Central Government will be burnt, and the government will be responsible for the consequences. Dhiman also said that the Consumer Democratic Movement would be expanded to address consumers' problems.
Those present on the occasion included Ashok Kumar, Satish Kumar, Ram Dayal, Santosh Kumar, Shamuna Devi, Deepak Kumar, Sunita Kumari, Kamal, Anita Rani, Sunita Devi, Seema Rani, Ramesh Chand, Anuradha Takhi, Nitasha, Raj Kumar and Numberdar Jagannath, among others.
