Gurez to have mobile service by Sept

The initiative of Chief Minister Mr. Omar Abdullah for providing telecom services (mobile service) in Gurez area of J&K has paid dividends.

Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr. A. Raja has informed the Chief Minister about the decision of his Ministry to provide mobile service in Gurez valley by September, 2009.

Mr. Abdullah had taken up the issue with the Union Minister, urging for up-gradation of Gurez 2 Mb Satellite System to Gurez 8 Mb System to provide mobile service in the area.

The Chief Minister, in a communication to the Union Minister, had highlighted the need for extending this facility to people of Gurez, keeping in view its remoteness and inaccessibility.

Mr. A. Raja, in his reply to Chief Minister, has said the matter of early allocation of satellite bandwidth to BSNL, stands discussed by Secretary, Telecom with Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO. ISRO has planned allocation of bandwidth on foreign satellite by August 2009. This would ensure up-gradation of satellite system to Gurez 8 Mb and installation of physical equipment, enabling the department to render service from September, 2009.

The Chief Minister has expressed gratitude to the Union Minister for expediting the matter and fulfilling long pending demand of the people of Gurez.