Operation of most mobile towers in Kashmir restored

Srinagar/New Delhi: Swinging into action, authorities, including police, have restored operation of over 600 of the 1,058 mobile transmission towers in Kashmir which had been shut in the wake of militant attacks and threats even as the Centre on Wednesday rushed a team to assess the situation.

The 1,058 towers, out of the 2,903 towers of various telecom companies installed across Kashmir Valley, had been shut down due to attacks and threats by militants to landlords in whose premises the equipment were installed, according to highly placed police sources.

Police, along with representatives of the telecom companies, have made 609 mobile transmission towers functional within a short span and efforts are underway to restore operations of other towers affected, the sources said.

Sopore was the worst-hit area where all but two of the 177 towers were shut down in the wake of a series of attacks by terrorists in which two persons died and three were injured.

The sources said police has been able to restore 59 towers mostly hub sites and those located close to security forces camps and police stations.

In Baramulla district, excluding Sopore, 110 of the 185 affected towers have been restored while in Srinagar the summer capital of the state 91 of the 141 affected towers have been restored. Srinagar has a tower strength of 714.

Anantnag district in south Kashmir and Kupwara, barring Handwara police district, in north were unaffected with all the 485 towers there remaining functional.

Out of 123 towers in Pulwama district, 101 towers were affected by the terrorist threats while more than 50 per cent of the 140 towers were shutdown in Awantipora police district, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday despatched a team of senior officials, head by Joint Secretary (Kashmir) in the Home Ministry Rajit Punhani, to Kashmir to take stock of the situation arising out of a spate of attacks on telecom towers.

On the basis of its report, the central government will decide whether there is requirement of any intervention to improve the situation, sources said in New Delhi.