Zunheboto, July 19 (MExN): Telecommunications, as a service, has seldom been satisfactory in Nagaland and multiple organisations, individuals as well as political parties have, from time to time, voiced out concerns over erratic telecom services.
The matter was underscored again on Monday when the Zunheboto Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ZCCI) submitted a representation to the district Deputy Commissioner drawing attention to the multipronged impact of deteriorating telecom services in the district. The organisation stated that it was “utterly unhappy with the insincere effort and weak authority of the administration” in directing service providers to ensure proper services to all the customers.
In the representation, the ZCCI stated that subscribers in Zunheboto have been persistently enduring the hardship with the expectations that the services would improve. However, “the abiding problem is growing from bad to worse, adversely affecting the public in general and particularly the business and student community,” it said.
Ease of doing business affected
The ZCCI stated that the advent of telecommunication has brought about a paradigm shift in the way trading activities are conducted and positively impacted trade and commerce in other parts of the world. However, in the case of Zunheboto town, it said that the services are “desperate and pathetic” and that most people are struggling with interrupted phone/conference calls and unable to use the internet and online video telephony thus affecting the ease of doing business.
“When financial transactions in business are going digital in many other places, ATMs and banks in our town are always compounded with people rushing for cash, as cash trading is the only means for trading. The growth of trade and commerce will continue to be adversely affected unless the authority understands the urgent need and take a sincerely active role,” the ZCCI representation stated.
Impact on students
The representation also underlined the impact that lack of proper network connectivity has had on education in Zunheboto and said that students have become the most vulnerable particularly due to the abnormal situation created by the pervasive COVID-19 pandemic. “It is alarming to learn about the increase in drop-out rates in Zunheboto, apparently due to the switch to online mode of teaching and learning. One of the obvious reasons is the lack of proper network connectivity,” it stated.
The ZCCI claimed that there has been no record of any school or college that has successfully conducted classes through different video-telephony applications and added that “Students’ careers have been enormously distracted due the absence of alternative mode of teaching/learning platform.”
While the School Education Department and private schools have come up with many new innovative technologies to bridge the gap, it said, accessible network is indispensable for all online modes of transactions, and the lack of it has led to pragmatic failures in the education sector. This is a state of affairs is tantamount to murdering the rights of our children, it asserted. The deplorable network has had unfavourable impacts not only on students but also on those persons vying for different competitive exams, official works, financial transactions and many other social emergencies, it added.
Additionally, the ZCCI pointed out that cell/smart phones have pervaded almost every member of the household and as such, an enormous amount of spending is collectively incurred on recharges. However, majority of the subscribers are not able to use the subscription due to network failures and service disruptions, it said while adding that, “The hard-earned payments of the subscribers, who are mostly from low income group, are added to the coffers of the affluent companies, and users are left devoid of any benefits.”
“We deserve and thus demand for proper instalment of all equipments, machinery, accessories, and employment of skilled technicians that will ensure round the clock connectivity in every corner of the town,” it added, while appealing the district authorities to genuinely address the matter. The Chamber will be objectively constraint to pursue for our right in case of delay in justice, it added.
