Chamba: Notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to promote digitalisation of maximum services and making Internet services available everywhere in India, young students are forced to climb mountains in order to catch internet connection as they have an online examination to attend to.
A number of students, who have been taking online classes due to coronavirus pandemic since March last, have their half-yearly examinations and need a fast internet connection to solve the question paper. As they don't get strong mobile internet connectivity in their villages, they climb mountains in order to have the same for their examination.
The political leaders and officials concerned have no clue of how young students cover a long distance to reach a certain place where they hope to get the internet connectivity.
Harsh cold weather conditions are also a major problem for them especially when they have to sit at the mountain top to have internet connectivity.
These pictures have come from Tribal areas of Bharmour in the hilly state.
Students could be seen climbing the mountain and sitting with their mobile phones and laptop computers in front of a campfire to keep themselves warm. Pictures like these tell the real story of the tall claims often made by the political leadership and those in power that accessing the internet is no more an issue.
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Pradhan of Baloth Gram Panchayat Ratan Chand and Kundel pradhan Prabhati say that they have requested the authorities concerned on a number of occasions to fix the problem but nothing was done to improve the internet connectivity in the region.
In view of the coronavirus crisis, the classes are being conducted through online method for the past nine months. Students of class five to 12 completed their second term examination on Tuesday.
The education department of the state government had promised to conduct offline examination in tribal areas where internet connectivity is an issue but it did not happen and the students from these areas had to cover a long distance in order to have internet connectivity.
Now, officials say that the matter would be probed.
Central government's scheme - Wi Fi interface - which is aimed at providing internet connectivity in all villages of the country - has been launched as a decision to this effect was taken in a cabinet committee meeting held on Wednesday in New Delhi.
Under this scheme, one crore data centres would be opened up across the country.
