Jamshedpur: With Maoists nearly wiped out, the West Singhbhum administration has fast-tracked the installation of telecommunication towers in remote areas of Saranda forest to provide mobile connectivity to the far-flung villages in Gudri and Bandgaon blocks.Deputy commissioner has asked officers to identify sites, obtain forest clearances, complete installation and operationalise the towers within 90 days. The work is set to begin from Sept 15.“All concerned agencies have to work in tandem to achieve the common goal of providing telecommunication connectivity in the shadow zones,” the DC said.Kumar met representatives of govt and private mobile service providers, forest and police officials to prepare a detailed plan for extending mobile connectivity to remote areas. Forest officers were directed to ensure timely clearances for commissioning towers.“Education, healthcare, banking and access to various social welfare schemes will become easier for village residents once mobile connectivity is available,” the DC said.Jagannathpur MLA Jagat Majhi said the end of Naxalism has cleared the way for ramping up development works in areas which were once a hive of Maoist activities.“More than 100 villages spread across around 10 panchayats in four blocks of my constituency are still waiting for proper mobile network connectivity,” Majhi said.He said three panchayats each in Anandpur and Gudri blocks, two in Goilkera and around two in Manoharpur lack mobile connectivity.BSNL, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Bharti Airtel will set up towers in the area.Mobile infrastructure had been attacked by Maoists during the heights of left-wing extremism in state. Three mobile towers were torched in Jaraikela and Chotanagra police station limits in Oct last year.
