J&K leads at least in one thing; we are leaders of govt-ordered internet gag: Omar

Srinagar, Sept 21: Taking a jibe at the government over a report in which Jammu and Kashmir tops the list of administration-ordered shutdown this year, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said J&K leads the country in at least one thing. “J&K leads the country in at least one thing - we are the leaders of Govt ordered Internet Shutdowns,” Mr Abdullah, also working president of National Conference (NC), tweeted. Mr Abdullah was reacting to a report which shows that internet has been curbed by the state government 53 times followed by Rajasthan with 14 gags in 2017. However, the frequent gag has badly affected students, professional, besides mediapersons in the Valley, where some small scale IT companies, who provided services to different MNCs, had to relocated to Delhi or Bangalore fearing losing business. “It is frustrating when the internet goes off without any warning in the name of security. I work for an MNC and meeting deadlines is very important. But, there are times I miss them because of gag on the internet. Now these suspensions have become a frequent thing. If it continues, I will have no option but to relocate to somewhere else and that will be a shame because I wanted to do something for my state and help in generating employment,” said Irfan Saleem, who working as a medical transcriptionist for a Delhi-based company. The mobile internet services for postpaid connections was suspended for about five months last year following violence triggered by the killing of HM commander Burhan Wani on July 8 last year. Similarly, mobile internet services for prepaid connections were restored in Kashmir on January 27, six months after they were suspended. UNI