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In a move to reach telecom services to Naxal-affected areas, the Department of Telecom is planning to set up task forces at the district levels to help roll out and protect telecom infrastructure.
The task force will comprise local youth in naxal affected districts and will be constituted in collaboration with the State Governments.
“Telecom services have not reached a large part of States such as Orissa and Bihar where the fear of naxalites is preventing operators from venturing into these areas. Even if they do set up a tower, it is damaged by anti-social elements. Therefore we are looking at roping in local people – youth, ex-servicemen – in protecting the infrastructure. This will not only enable them to avail the benefits of communication but also act as source of employment,” said a DoT official.
“This body will have the dual role of assisting telecom roll outs in difficult terrains as well as in maintaining essential services in times of emergency,” the official added.
Worst affected areas
The Ministry of Communications has already asked the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to take the first step and roll out 500 new base stations across 31 districts in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
The districts being covered include Dantewada, Dhanbad and Singhbum, which are some of the worst naxal-affected areas in the country. These areas have been neglected in terms of telecom infrastructure development. Chhattisgarh, for example, has a tele-density of only about 5 per cent compared to the national average of 56 per cent.
There are about 1,500 mobile towers in these 30 districts covering about 40 per cent of the geography.
The additional 500 towers would take the coverage to about 50 per cent. In comparison, a city such as Delhi alone has more than 4,500 towers with as many as nine operators offering services.
“The move to roll out mobile infrastructure is part of the UPA Government's inclusive growth agenda. The link between telecom infrastructure growth and growth in GDP is now well established. Once people get access to mobile services it can uplift their economic condition, which in turn have a long term impact on naxal activities,” said a senior Government official.
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