Internet Crisis in Andamans, Islands’ Youth Sign Petition to Alert Government

Port Blair, Feb. 18: The dream of decent and undisrupted internet connectivity has been a concern in the islands with BSNL being the only Broad Band Service Provider. Right from frequent call drops, disconnections during conversations to poorest of the internet, the BSNL has proven to be the largest and the worst service provider in the islands. The only thing that holds BSNL to stay in the business is the widest coverage it provides being a Government’s lad, while other private players like Airtel and Vodafone have been given limited coverage area.

Many efforts have been made by the A&N Administration in the recent past to improve ‘Internet Connectivity’ in the islands by having regular dialogues with the Centre but the issue does not seem to get to a logical end, in spite of the promises by the visiting Ministers.

There is absolutely no doubts that the undersea fibre optic cable once in place would be a game changer for the islands but do the islanders really have to suffer internet crisis by dreaming of the time when the project will be executed, remains a big question.

Taking the issue to the highest possible level, a petition has been floated in change.org by a local islander named Vaibhav Singh demanding justice. The petition has been marked to the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Smti Sushma Swaraj, the Lt. Governor of the Islands and twelve others and has been supported by more than 200 people from the islands as of now.

Though uncertain whether the efforts of the youths to alert the government would yield great results in a short span of time, but the very fact that the islanders have started a petition speaks volumes of the change they wish to witness.