Himachal Pradesh will soon see telecom revolution: Ram Lal Markanda

MANALI: Be it remote tribal areas, villages of towns, Himachal Pradesh will soon witness internet and telecommunication revolution as government was mulling a pact with a telecom major to establish hundreds of communication towers in the state. This was stated by tribal development, IT and agriculture minister Dr Ram Lal Markanda on Sunday.
"Telephone connectivity and internet access will be no bar in any part of Himachal. Even Lahaul-Spiti, where mobile connectivity and internet have been a big problem, will get dozens of towers. Every person in state will be able to do cashless transaction and online works paving way for a digital India," the minister said.

Markanda said the government would also open IT parks at different locations and one such park would soon be inaugurated in Shimla while the next would come up in Manali. He added that marketing yards and cold storages would be built in all districts so that farmers get the direct benefits without the help of any agent.

When TOI asked him about almost no telephone and internet connectivity in tribal Lahaul-Spiti area, he said the telecom company would soon cover all areas of the district and more towers will be established in other parts of Himachal. "Internet will be within the reach of every person. I have taken this as my top priority."

The minister said dilapidated condition of roads, especially Gramphoo-Kaza road, would also be improved. "This is our bad luck that this major road is being transferred from Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to the public works department (PWD) and again from the PWD to BRO. Many other roads have now been declared national highways and improvement works are underway."

Markanda said health services in Lahaul-Spiti would also be improved so that people get better medical services in their home district. He added that the border dispute between Lahaul-Spiti and Ladakh would also be solved by talks between the governments of both Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. the minister said the government planned to develop Lahaul valley in terms of tourism in a planned manner as tourist crowd is expected to rush to the valley after opening of the Rohtang tunnel.