Anxiety grips valley even as low-speed internet discourages efforts to fight Covid-1917:26 March 18, 2020
Kashmir: Lack of functional internet makes it nearly impossible for many to work or communicate properly from homeImage Credit: AP
Just when Kashmir was beginning to limp its way out of a half-year communication blackout imposed by the Narendra Modi government, it is faced with another spell of lockdown.
Coronavirus, creating a major global disruption, has prompted authorities to declare it an epidemic in J&K. All schools and educational institutions up to the primary level have been ordered shut. Business and public transport has been put on alert to slow the spread of the deadly virus.
As a precautionary measure, a ban has also been announced on the entry of foreign tourists. The government has ordered the closure of all major gardens, hotels and restaurants in Srinagar as additional steps.
Education, which suffered a major blow by continuous lockdown, has proved to be a major black hole in Kashmir. At a time when students in the valley need to continue their studies through distant medium via internet, they bemoan low-speed internet connections
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Ironically, the pandemic struck at a time when Kashmiris had just begun to pick up the pieces after months of political turmoil that witnessed a crippling information blackout, curfew, widespread disruption of economic and political life, and a loss of crucial months of academic calendar for students.https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/coronavirus-why-kashmir-needs-full-speed-internet-1.70472677
