6 Months of 370 – Internet Shutdown in Kashmir, Business Down, 5 lakh people lost their jobs

Srinagar : npnews24 : Internet access remains a major challenge even after 6 months of Article 370 being removed in Kashmir. It is notable that internet was banned 6 months ago on August 5, with the removal of Article 370. Even though 2G internet service has been restored, people are not able to use it due to the slow speed. Photo journalist of Kashmir Tariq says, “We are not able to upload the photo in the email. Its speed is so slow that even the website is not opening. “

Only mobile internet has been restored in Kashmir, but broadband connections are still closed. Telecom companies are being signed on a bond before the broadband connection is restored, so that users cannot access social media.  In this bond, not only social media but also VPN service, WiFi, encrypted files, videos and photos are not allowed to be uploaded. In addition, all USB ports of the computer also have to be disabled. If there is any kind of misuse of internet then it will be the responsibility of the company. Apart from this, companies will also have to give access to content at the behest of security agencies.

The internet was shutdown after the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August. Internet was started in Ladakh from 27 December, but it continued to be banned in Kashmir. Subsequently, in January, the Supreme Court directed the central government to review all restrictions and said that Internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution.

In Kashmir, people are also facing a lot of trouble due to the ban on internet and broadband connection. People are unable to book flights and hotels.  Students are also having difficulty in studies. They are not able to prepare for the course. Apart from this, students are also unable to apply online for admission.

The biggest impact of the internet ban has been on Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Startup India’ program. People who started startups are being affected because of the ban on the Internet.  Many startups are on the verge of closure. Mohammad Ashfaq, 42, used to work in a bank earlier, but 9 years ago he quit his bank job and started a finance and trading company in Kashmir. It was risky to start his own company in Kashmir stricken by violence and conflict for decades, but his idea worked and the company also ran well. Ashfaq’s company provides data processing and tour packaging to people and companies. At one time, more than 400 people worked in his company. But due to internet ban in Kashmir, they have to remove employees.

Ashfaq says they will wait for another month. If the situation does not improve after that, they will shut down their company.  Ashfaq says, “I am not even able to pay my office rent. Earlier my office had many rooms, but now it has been reduced to only one room.” He said, “I paid employees for three months after August in the hope that the situation will improve now. But now there is no hope. I had to remove most of my staff from work. We have seen similar situations in Kashmir before, but never seen worse conditions than this.” Ashfaq continuous that he has also kept a staff in Delhi for the last two months so that work can go on.  But this has only increased the cost because nothing is known that how long the internet will take to restart.

According to a report by the International Council of Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the economy of Kashmir had lost Rs 4 thousand crores in the last 6 years due to internet shutdown.  Whereas, a recent report by the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) states that there has been a loss of 18,000 crore rupees in Kashmir due to the continuous ban and internet shutdown. With this, 5 lakh jobs have also ended.

The cell phone sector has suffered the most from the Internet shutdown.  There are over 30 lakh mobile phone users in Kashmir. There are 1,450 registered retail mobile stores, which employ more than eight thousand people. Internet shutdown has led to a 90% drop in mobile phone sales. There is also the danger of hundreds of people losing their jobs.

Riyaz Mir works at a cell phone store in Srinagar. His monthly salary is 15 thousand rupees, but since August he has not received his salary. Riyaz says, “The biggest reason for not getting my salary is that I am not being vale to add my attendance online due to internet ban.” He says that he gets a target to sell at least one mobile phone every day,  then he gets salary. Munir Qureshi has several mobile stores in Srinagar and used to sell an average of 150 mobiles daily before 5 August, but now barely 5 mobiles are sold in a day. Munir says that a multinational company like Samsung has blacklisted Kashmir. We cannot work long hours without sales.

Internet shutdown in Kashmir has also affected the courier service there.  There is no online tracking of couriers without internet. Courier service providers are also unable to contact their customers, as most of the customers do not have pre-paid mobiles and pre-paid mobile service is also blocked in Kashmir.

Reporting in Kashmir has also become difficult due to the Internet shutdown.  Story filing is the biggest challenge for the media persons here. Reporters living here are filing their stories elsewhere. Like – some people come to Kashmir in the morning, work all day and go to Delhi or elsewhere in the evening and file their story. At the same time, some journalists load their story in flash drive and send it to Delhi through people going out of Kashmir.  However, after criticisms, the government has started a media center equipped with about 10 Internet enabled terminals.  Every day hundreds of journalists in this center have to wait for hours to file a story.

“There is no privacy in the media center,” says photo journalist Zahoor Ahmed. Journalists have repeatedly protested in Kashmir demanding Internet reinstatement, but the government did not restore the Internet for them. Another journalist from Kashmir, Idris, says, “Demanding the Internet is not a crime. This is our right.”

The ongoing lockdown in Kashmir since August 5 has also badly affected the education sector here.  Students here have also stopped going to school and college. The most impact of internet ban is on the students who are preparing for the competitive exam. Due to the shutdown, students are neither able to download the exam form nor submit it. The government has started internet kiosks in every district of Kashmir, but students complain that there is always a crowd here. Also, internet speed is also very slow.