After 72 days, mobiles spring back to life in J&K

SRINAGAR: Mobiles sprang back to life in the Valley at noon on Monday after 72 days of silence, and with it were restored the pulse of a courtship here, the synergy of a business relationship there and all the little big moments of life captured in a phone conversation.
Engaged to be married in late-November, 20-year-old Farana (name changed) couldn't contain her glee on hearing fiance Musharraf's voice for the first time since August 5, when mobile, landline and internet connectivity was blocked across the Valley.
“We live in different districts and couldn't meet once during the past two months because of the uncertainty all around. We do not have landlines at home; so we couldn't speak over the phone either until this afternoon. Hearing his voice after such a long time, it was like knowing him all over again," Farana said.
Srinagar-based businessman Mudasir Raja couldn't have imagined that he would someday spend an entire morning checking his mobile-phone screen every few minutes for the network bars to blink. Like almost everyone running a business in J&K, he missed the convenience of mobile phone communication more than anything else in the past two months of restrictions.
“Curbs on cellular services should have been eased before any other initiative to normalcy. In business, you can't do without a mobile phone in this day and age," he said. "Rumour mongering will come to an end only if communication is allowed, not the other way around."
Fruit grower Gulzar Ahmad of Shopian is looking forward to a spike in orders now that he can connect with potential buyers outside the Valley whenever he needs to. "The first call I received in more than two months was from an apple exporter in Delhi. I have had a bumper crop of apple and pear this year and the rates are also good. Restoration of postpaid mobile services at this time is a godsend," he said.
At BSNL and Jio counters in Srinagar, there were long queues till evening to clear pending postpaid bills. While nearly 40 lakh postpaid connections have been restored, the largest base of prepaid subscribers still don't have access to mobile phone communication. Private and commercial mobile internet and broadband connectivity also remains blocked across J&K. Landline connections, which until Monday were the only communication links available in the Valley, had been restored in phases early last month.
Nuzhat Ara, a resident of Peerbagh in Srinagar, had kept her mobile phone fully charged since Sunday so that she could call Abdul Rashid the moment her postpaid connection was restored. “Rashid is a professional marriage maker who lives at Sumbal in Bandipora. He had been trying to find a suitable boy for my daughter before the abrupt clampdown on mobile connectivity in August disrupted our plans. I am so glad this is over," she said.
Delhi-based Rohit Sethi, who is in the middle of a holiday in Kashmir with his family, described the restoration of postpaid mobile services as a big bonus after what has been a safe and Read More – Source