Srinagar: The suspension of internet for days altogether in the districts witnessing encounters is the latest challenge the people face, with students being the worst sufferers.
Authorities justify the move as a measure to prevent spread of rumours on social media and maintaining of law and order in the areas where encounter between government forces and militants takes place.
With internet having become the indispensable part of one’s daily life, the suspension only adds to the people’s woes.
Following the killing of youth at Thandipora, Kralpora in north Kashmir’s Kupwara, the internet was choked in the district and remains shut for the 3rd consecutive day on Tuesday.
As the life has returned to almost normal, the locals demand the restoration of internet. The students say they have to suffer a lot. “We need internet for every reason – from gathering information for our assignments to checking of latest academic updates. Without internet, we feel living in a stone age,” a student Nazia from Kralpora told INS.
Irfan Ahmad, who runs an all-in-one store at Kupwara main chowk said, “It is ironical that on one hand, government is boasting of ‘Digital India’, and on the other side, we are being pushed to dark ages through such unjustified gags. My business runs mostly on internet and I’m suffering a lot.”
