New Delhi: Mobile services are still a distant dream for many people living in rural areas of the state as towers have not been installed in 9,940 villages in Odisha.
According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, as per data collected from the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) in 2018, it was estimated that 43,088 inhabited villages (as per 2011 census) in the country and 9,940 villages in Odisha are not covered by mobile services.
Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in the last three years, 118 mobile towers have been installed in left wing extremism affected areas of Odisha.
In a written reply to a question raised by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab seeking to know the reasons for unavailability of mobile services in the villages, the minister said the reasons include remote and tough terrain, areas diversely located with scattered population and commercially non-viable operations.
Prasad further stated that the Union government has launched several projects to provide internet and mobile services in rural parts of the country.
