Srinagar, June 07: All mobile phones across Kashmir were disrupted in view of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to the Valley.
On Monday, almost all the mobile service providers including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited blocked the cellular service at around 11:30 am, 15minutes prior to the arrival of the PM in Srinagar.
“The subscriber is presently switched off,” said a computerised message as cell phone users tried to contact friends and relatives.
“In addition to communication, mobile phones can be used as devices to trigger explosions also. So, we blocked the service at 11:30 am. The jam would continue till the PM leaves,” General Manager BSNL, Mahesh Shukla said.
Locals have criticised the service providers and the authorities for resorting to such a measure.
Muzaffar Ahmad, 49, a collage teacher said,”It is like throwing an iron curtain around the city. I could not contact any cell phone even when I tried to do so from my landline. This is something unimaginable.”
The worst-affected were the local journalists who were greatly inconvenienced because the mobile phones went dead in the city.
“My office back in Delhi has been calling me to know the latest on the prime minister’s visit and here I am sitting in my office clueless about the visit,” said a local journalist who works for a New Delhi-based newspaper.
There have been instances when the separatist guerrillas have triggered explosions by using mobile phones in the past in Srinagar.
Singh, who is visiting Kashmir after a gap of seven months, will hold one-to-one talks with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and review the progress of the recommendations madeduring the two sessions of the Round Table Conference chaired by him.
—Agencies