BSNL towers to cover border districts of Pithoragarh, Champawat by March: Official

BSNL is installing mobile towers at key places in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts of Uttarakhand to cover areas bordering China and Nepal under the Indian network and rid people of their dependence on Nepalese mobile network.

The entire area near the India-Nepal and India-China borders in Darma, Vyas and Chaudas valleys will be covered by BSNL network before March next year, BSNL officials here said.

"A total of 31 mobile towers are to be installed to cover the border region and border outposts (BOPs) on the India-Nepal and India-China borders, " BSNL General Manager Mahesh Nikhurpa said.

Out of these, 25 towers are being erected to connect the BOPs and the rest to cover the lower areas of the valleys. Seven out of the 25 towers have already been made operational and work is on for the remaining, the GM said.

"We will fully activate the towers before March next year," Nikhurpa said.

Mobile connectivity in the upper Himalayan region of Uttarakhand is poor due to lack of towers, forcing residents to often depend on the Nepalese mobile network as mobile towers in the neighbouring country are pitched on higher elevations.

BSNL had to install a temporary network for better mobile connectivity at Gunji, on October 12, 2023, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jolingkong for a glimpse of the Adi Kailash peak.

Kavindra Singh, a resident of Ramtoli village where the BSNL network has started functioning a month back, said until last month, villagers were dependent on Nepalese network for calls, which is costlier.

Using the Nepalese network for a call costs as much as making an international call, he said. "The BSNL network has made it cheaper and more convenient for villagers," he said.

Anju Rongkaki, former gram Pradhan of Rongkong village in Vyas valley on India-China border said with installation of BSNL towers at Jolingkong, her village will get mobile network round the year.