Govt to provide mobile connectivity in 498 villages located in strategic & border areas: Prasad

New Delhi: Communication Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that government will provide mobile connectivity in 498 villages which are located in strategic and border areas.

Talking to reporters, Mr Prasad said, government has been taking measures to provide connectivity in the far flung and border areas of strategic importance, to ensure better quality of life to the people as well as to those who are working in these areas.

He said, tender for 354 uncovered villages in the strategic, remote and border areas of the country has been finalised and is under implementation in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, in 144 villages of Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and other priority areas of Gujarat.

These villages have been strategically choosen to cover border area connectivity on mobile. The Minister said, after commissioning of these villages, there will be no uncovered villages in Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for mobile connectivity.

The Minister further told that Department of Telecommunications is also working on providing mobile connectivity in villages of 24 aspirationsal districts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and remaining 44 aspirational districts for seven thousand 287 uncovered villages in Chhatisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh will also be covered.