Mon 14 October 2019:
Some 40 lakh postpaid mobile phones have become operational from Monday noon. Internet connectivity, however, will remain suspended for now.
72 days after mobile and internet communications were blocked in the Kashmir Valley by the government, postpaid mobile services on all networks in the valley have been restored. The restoration of mobile phone connections comes over two months the government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s decades-old special privileges.
The central government had ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 and split it into two union territories, saying the move would help ensure that people of the state get the same constitutional benefits as the rest of the country and spur development.
To prevent any backlash, the centre also imposed massive security restrictions and took measures that included arresting politicians, evacuating tourists, posting extra troops and blocking phone and internet lines.
Some of those curbs have been slowly relaxed, but mobile and internet communications in the Kashmir Valley were largely still blocked. The advisory preventing tourists from visiting the state was lifted last Thursday.
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