Uttarakhand to provide people with satellite phones to keep eye on border areas

DEHRADUN: To keep an eye on the ground amidst ongoing tussle with China and Nepal on the demarcation of the border, the Uttarakhand government is distributing satellite phones to selected people in the Himalayan state.

A senior police official told The New Indian Express on the condition of anonymity, "The phones will be distributed to keep an eye on the border areas. This will enable us to strengthen communication lines in border areas."

According to the sources, 200-300 satellite phones will be distributed in border areas.

Last month, 49 villages in Pithoragarh district along the China and Nepal were equipped with satellite phones amidst ongoing border tensions. The locals, however, say that this is not sufficient and a robust infrastructure is needed to tackle the problem.

Uttarakhand border villages are compelled to use Nepalese Sim cards due to lack of availability of Indian network providers including government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

High call rates are also a matter of concern for people. The call charges are fixed at Rs 12 per minute and an SMS would also cost the same amount. International calls and SMS rates have been fixed at Rs 260 per minute and Rs 260 per SMS.

The receding population on the Uttarakhand-Nepal-China border has become a source of worry for Indian security forces amidst increasing border tensions with Nepal.

According to reports of Uttarakhand Rural Development and Migration Commission, 14 villages have become totally empty since 2011 while in many parts population has declined 'significantly'.

The commission, set up by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in 2017 which released its survey report in the year 2018, stated that between 2007 and 2017,  1,18,981 people from 3,946 gram panchayats migrated permanently, and 3,83,726 people from 6,338 gram panchayats shifted temporarily in search of work and better life.

According to the commission's report, a total of 1702 villages in the state have become totally depopulated becoming 'Ghost Villages'.

A total of 565 villages are such which have lost more than half of their population to migration. However, a trend of coming back home was also registered in over 850 villages across the state.

This comes after Nepal’s cabinet endorsed a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territory.